Revenge
by Petalouda85
Summary: Sequel to Cursed. After 20 years of hiding in the shadows, Pitch sets the plan for revenge in motion with a woman named Eloise. His targets: Hiccup and Rapunzel. Warnings: torture, violence, character deaths, blood, and possible rape.
1. Prologue

**And so the sequel begins. I would have uploaded this story sooner but I rewrote this entire chapter from scratch because I didn't like the first draft so I just deleted everything and restarted. The only thing that remained in this chapter that was also in the original is some of the conversation. Enjoy the prologue! (be prepared for some fluff)**

**Prologue**

"Don't you think 20 years is a bit too much?" Asked a man as he stood up from where he sat. With his features, one could definitely call him handsome. He was tall with a lithe body, silver-golden yellow eyes, glossy black hair and pale-gray skin. He was wearing a floor length black robe with a v-neck that showed off a little of his chest, and underneath he wore unseen black pants and shoes. "A year I can understand," the man continued, "Even 5 years but 20?" A woman slowly walked towards the man, each step showing her bare feet. She was shorter than the man with long golden hair, amber eyes and surrounded by light, which gave her skin a yellow colour. She was wearing a simple, floor-length gold dress, with a wide neckline and full length sleeves that were tight to her elbow and then widened out to reach the floor. The hem and the neckline were decorated with dark gold embroidery of the sun. In reply to the man's questions, she shook her head,

"No," she said in a voice as soft and as beautiful as a nightingale's song, "We have to give them a sense of security and the longer you stay here, the safer they will feel." The man grumbled something inaudible under his breath, "Don't worry, Pitch," the woman said calmly, "Your moment of revenge is drawing nearer." Pitch smiled at the thought. Twenty years earlier, he had attempted to destroy his enemies but had hopelessly failed to even harm one of them. "But before you can achieve this goal," the woman suddenly said, "You're gonna need something. You've been defeated by these people before and without it you never will." Pitch walked towards the woman, placed his hand under her chin, lifting her head to face his and started playing with her bottom lip with his thumb,

"And what do I need, Eloise, to get my revenge?" Pitch asked in a low voice as he kept playing. Eloise smiled and gently took his hand away from her lips.

"First you need to know this," She replied, "There an old Viking legend that has been lost to man but there are still a few who know it." Eloise said as she walked around Pitch, her hand trailing across his chest,

"What's so important about this legend?" Pitch asked as he watched Eloise, a strong feeling bubbling inside him.

"It speaks of an item that has been lost since the time of Berk. It's said that the one who possess this item will be given whatever their heart desires and that is something you need."

"Where can I find this…. buried treasure?" Pitch asked, trying not to sound too eager as Eloise placed her hands on his shoulders; the feeling he felt was getting stronger.

"That's the hard part. Its location is known only by one person."

"Who?"

"The owner of the item: the Guardian of Fall and Knowledge." As soon as she spoke that name, Pitch felt anger boil in him, the other feeling mostly gone, and he balled his fists, "You know where to find him," Eloise whispered, "And when you do torture him and make his fears become a reality then he'll tell you everything you need to know." Eloise walked back around so she stood in front of him. Pitch smiled as he looked at her,

"I like the way you think." Pitch placed his hands on the sides of Eloise's head, caressing her temple with his thumb. Eloise grabbed hold of his wrists and sighed,

"You seem to be the only one who does." She let go of his wrist and walked back a few steps before turning her back to him, "You know how little recognition I get for everything I do for the mortal world. I keep the Earth warm, during the winter, I keep the temperature at a bearable level and much more but after everything I've done, there's not a single book in the entire world that bears my name. Even some insignificant members of my Order get more recognition than I do. It's like I don't even exist." Eloise bowed her head, a few tears escaping her eyes and rolling down her cheek. Pitch watched her cry for only a minute before walking to her, turning her around by her shoulders, lifting her head and wiping away her tears.

"Don't cry. I hate it when you cry." Pitch gave her a reassuring smile. After Eloise smiled in return, he leaned forward and gave her kiss on her forehead. As soon as his lips touched her skin, he felt his power being drained. He grunted a little and pulled away, his power returning to him as fast as it had left. When she heard his grunt, Eloise placed her hand on his cheek, looking at him with worry.

"Are you alright?" Pitch nodded causing Eloise to let out a sigh of relief but that soon changed to anger "How could you forget? You can't give me a kiss while my light is on." Pitch looked back at her with a sad expression,

"I know but you looked so sad, I couldn't resist." Pitch placed his hands on her cheeks and leaned his forehead against her, "Cast the spell. Please?" Eloise sighed and closed her eyes.

"Alright. _Protegat Tenebris._" She said in a whisper. Slowly, the light surrounding her disappeared. As the light disappeared, her hair changed to blonde and her skin became a peach colour then she opened her eyes to reveal they had turned the colour brown. They looked at each other for a second then Pitch, as quick as a flash, placed his lips on hers. Eloise was taken back this sudden movement but quickly responded by deepening the kiss, wrapping one arm around him and running her fingers through his hair. Pitch wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, closing his eyes and opening his mouth to deepen the kiss even more. Eloise closed her eyes and opened her mouth too but little did she notice that the light was returning. Neither did Pitch notice as he ran his fingers through her long hair. Only when he felt the pain did he pull away from the kiss. Eloise gasped when Pitch pulled away and was horrified when she looked at him. Around his mouth and his wrists, his skin had cracked, light spewing from them. The light disappeared quickly while the cracks slowly closed. Sighing, Pitch sat down on something that looked like a black rock and buried his face in his hands. Eloise sat down beside him and rubbed his back, deeply regretting what she was going to say,

"We shouldn't do that anymore." As soon as she said that, Pitch sat up and looked at her,

"Why?" He didn't sound upset, more curious. Eloise shook her head and bowed it, feeling the tears return,

"You know why. I could kill you." She looked at him, "It's too risky." Eloise began to cry even more. He knew exactly what she meant. Even touching her was dangerous for him as with each touch his powers would drain. He knew that being with her was dangerous but he loved her and he knew that she loved him. Pitch wiped away the tears, gently stroked her cheek and ran his fingers through her hair,

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." He whispered. Eloise couldn't help but chuckle and laid her head against his shoulder. Pitch wrapped an arm around her shoulder and leaned his head against hers; he felt his power drain again but he ignored it. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's presence, when Eloise suddenly sat up, her eyes wide and looking around the room.

"What is it? What do you hear?" Pitch asked. Eloise had the ability to read minds and could hear anyone's thoughts in a room, including his,

"We're being watched." she whispered. Pitch looked around him,

"Who?" Eloise stood up and took another look around her,

"Somebody from my Order." she said in a panicky voice. She listened intently for another minute, "There!" she pointed and Pitch saw a faint glimpse of light disappear. Without a moment's hesitation, he disappeared into the shadows in pursuit of the fleeing light while Eloise ran in the direction it had disappeared.

**Now that is a bad guy I like. Dark and all the other wonderful things that come along with a soft spot for the person they love. I still find it very cute! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. The other story I was talking about in the epilogue of **_**Cursed **_**is up as well, so if you haven't read it yet, please do. Thanks. Review, follow, favourite.**


	2. Chapter 1

**I honestly have nothing to say except enjoy.**

**Chapter #1**

Rapunzel was fast asleep and dreaming peacefully on the right side of a queen-sized bed, the blanket combined with the fireplace keeping her warm and toasty. Outside it was dark and the blizzard was blowing mercilessly. Rapunzel has never liked winter, ever. She can't say she hates it but since 20 years ago, her dislike of it as grown. Rapunzel was the Guardian of Spring, so the most obvious reason she doesn't like it is because nothing can grow. Another reason is that the sun rarely shone at her home, the North Pole. But the most important reason of all was that Jack wasn't with her. Jack is the man Rapunzel loves with all her heart. Jack was the Guardian of Winter and it was his job to spread winter around the world. During the winter months, Rapunzel was lucky if Jack could spare 1 or 2 days for her and during the months of spring, Jack was lucky if she could spare a few days for him. They had lived like this for about 20 years now. Both understood that their duties as Guardians were important but they both felt that the duties of their hearts were important too.

Rapunzel turned in her sleep, her back facing a large oak door. She didn't move when the door opened slightly before closing and clicking quietly into the lock. When the door had opened, a man entered the room. He was tall, with very pale skin, eye-catching silver-white hair and mesmerizing ice blue eyes. He was wearing, although it was hard to see in the dark, a blue hoodie with frost patterns around the collar and dark brown pants and in his hand, he was carrying a staff that had a striking resemblance to a shepherd's crook. After his eyes had adjusted to the dark surroundings, he looked at the bed and smiled when he saw the sleeping Rapunzel. On his tiptoe, he slowly approached the bed. After placing his staff against the wall and making sure it stayed there, he sat down on the bed and slowly shuffled towards Rapunzel until he was sitting next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently, causing Rapunzel to moan but she stayed asleep, much to Jack's disappointment. He shook her shoulder, a bit wilder this time but still gently. Rapunzel moaned louder,

"Punz," Jack whispered whilst smiling brightly, "Wake up." Rapunzel turned onto her back and opened her eyes sleepily. In her blurred vision, the only thing she saw was a figure leaning over her. After her vision had focused, all tiredness washed away in an instant,

"Jack!" she squealed and she threw her arms around him, sobbing a few tears of joy in his shoulder. Jack gladly returned the hug and gave her a kiss on her cheek,

"I missed you so much." He whispered as he felt a few tears escape his own eyes. Rapunzel smiled and tightened the embrace even more,

"I missed you too," she whispered into his shoulder. After a few minutes of sitting in each others' embrace, Rapunzel let go of Jack and yawned. Seeing that she was tired, Jack gently took Rapunzel by her shoulder and pushed her back so she was lying down. After removing his hoodie, he crawled under the blanket and wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her a quick kiss on her temple. Soon, they were both fast asleep.

* * *

The alarm clock went off at its usual time of 8:30 am. Rapunzel was immediately woken by the loud buzzing and quickly turned it off. Even though she didn't need to go anywhere, Rapunzel liked to keep her days as similar as that of any other person, which meant waking up at a certain time of day, and if she didn't set the alarm, she'd be sleeping the whole day. Next to her, Jack groaned loudly. He still had his arm around her which made it difficult for her to move. She turned around slowly so she could see him,

"Jack, wake up!" She said in a stern but quiet voice. He removed his arm that was around her and turned so his back was facing her,

"10 more minutes." She heard him mutter. Sighing and shaking her head, she crawled to him and, hovering over him, placed a kiss on his cheek,

"Wake up, lazy bones!" She said a bit louder. Jack grunted something in an annoying tone that clearly sounded like 'no.' Letting out another sigh and rolling her eyes, Rapunzel shuffled off the bed and quietly walked to the foot of it. With a swift and fast motion, she ripped the blanket off of Jack and the bed, letting it drop onto the ground; Jack was awake in an instant.

"Alright." He said sleepily and, rubbing his eyes, let out a long yawn. Seeing him like that, Rapunzel couldn't resist laughing and crawled back onto the bed right beside him. Half-leaning on his chest, Rapunzel pressed a kiss on his cold lips. Jack gladly returned the kiss and ran his fingers through her tangled hair, all tiredness gone. Within seconds, Rapunzel pulled away from the kiss, much to Jack's annoyance,

"You awake?" She asked in a teasing tone. Jack remained silence and in a swift movement that Rapunzel wasn't expecting, they switched positions, with Rapunzel lying down and Jack leaning on her. He leant forward and there lips met once more. After he pulled away, Jack looked at her and smiled,

"I am now." Rapunzel giggled and Jack gave her another quick peck before sitting up with his legs crossed. Rapunzel sat up as well but with her legs stretched out in front of her, her arms behind her to hold her up. With a smirk, jack said, "Are you ready for some fun today?" Before Rapunzel could reply, they heard voices arguing and footsteps going down the hallway. Distracted from each other, they both listened carefully,

* * *

"You're just jealous that I hit all the targets and you didn't." They heard a female with a Scottish accent say. A man replied to her statement with a barely audible scoff,

"Please. You just shoot and call whatever you hit the target." He retorted. The footsteps stopped, which probably meant that the female was probably looking at him,

"Do I now?" There was silence then they heard something hit the floor and a thump and clink.

"You nearly hit my foot!" the man exclaimed,

'I did?" the woman asked sarcastically, "Then I missed my first target today." They heard some feet running down the hallway, the woman laughing, and a door opening and slamming shut. After a while, they heard thumps and clinks making their way down the hallway and another door closing.

* * *

Jack and Rapunzel looked at each other with confused looks and Jack shrugged his shoulder. With a sigh, Rapunzel looked in the direction of the door,

"Don't they ever stop?" she asked quietly. Jack shrugged his shoulders again,

"I don't see them stopping anytime soon." He shuffled over so he was sitting beside her, "But don't worry," he looked at her, "they'll make up. They always do." Jack cupped her chin and smiled. Seeing him smile, Rapunzel couldn't resist doing it too; his smile was so addicting. He gave her a peck on her forehead and slid off the bed, "But let's not worry about that now. I promised you a day of fun and fun we shall have."

* * *

Jack and Rapunzel were snuggled together on big comfy chair that was supposed to be for one person. Rapunzel was sitting on Jack's lap, her head snuggled under his chin and her eyes were closed. Jack had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and was rubbing her arm gently, his head leaning lightly on hers. Rapunzel moved slightly as if trying to readjust herself but moved back to her original position, a smile appearing on her face as the occurrences of the day replayed in her mind.

* * *

Rapunzel walked out the bathroom, fully dressed, to find that Jack had already left but Rapunzel knew where he was. Just before she had disappeared into the bathroom, he had told her to meet him in the grand hall by the globe. Before leaving the room, Rapunzel took a look at herself in the large mirror. What she saw was a short and slender woman with large green eyes, rosy cheeks, a few light freckles, and long golden blonde hair that was currently in a braid that reached to about mid-back. She was wearing a purple-pink shirt with ¾ sleeves, black leggings that reached her calves, and on her feet she wore white ankle-socks. When she concurred that she looked fine, she left the room and met up with Jack.

They spent the day doing everything and nothing and Rapunzel was having a great time. One of the highlights of the day was when they decided to do some mischief and threw snowballs through the open doors of North's workroom. One of the snowballs had hit him square in the back of his head and they soon bolted, lest they get caught. They spent the rest of their time in Rapunzel's studio and now they were resting in the chair

* * *

Rapunzel moved again slightly and moaned quietly. Jack lifted his head and looked at the dozed Rapunzel. He let out a small chuckle before giving her a kiss on top of her head and laying his head back on hers. The pair sat their in silence for who knew how long before the silence was broken.

"Happy to see you two lovebirds are still together" They heard a familiar Hindi-accented voice say. In sync, they sat up and turned their heads towards the source of the voice. When Rapunzel saw what it was, she jumped up and ran to it, tackling it in an embrace.

**Rapunzel! You're so mean for waking Jack up! A man needs his beauty sleep too. Sorry if some sections seemed a bit rushed but I was lacking creativity in those parts; that's my excuse. Review, follow, favourite.**


	3. Chapter 2

**New chapter! Lots of character descriptions. Note: North in this story looks like the North from the book aka he's young. And one of you asked me what the temple was: the temple is the side of the head by the eyes and Jack gave Punz a kiss there. If that didn't clear it up, look it up on Wikipedia; it has a whole page to itself. Enjoy**

**Chapter #2**

"Paro!" Rapunzel yelled and ran to her, nearly knocking Paro over in a hug. Paro gladly returned the hug, smiling brightly like a mother who hadn't seen their daughter for a long time. Rapunzel let go the hug and looked up at Paro.

She had a similar body as Rapunzel: slender but Paro was taller than her; everybody was taller than Rapunzel. Paro possessed tanned, flawless skin, large eyes that were bright green and pitch-black hair, which she had put in a long braid and which was then wrapped into a low bun. She had abandoned her usual backless green choli and knee-length skirt and replaced it with a short-sleeved dark-blue choli that reached her thighs, decorated with simple white embroidery, and a white churidar. On her left arm, she had drawn a brownish black henna tattoo of flowers and swirls while on her right arm she was wearing several gold bangles. Paro was the Guardian of Nature and Asia's Spirit of Healing.

"What are you doing here?" Rapunzel asked, very surprised that Paro was there. Paro was very busy as a Guardian of Nature and a Spirit and could rarely visit the North Pole. If she could visit, she would always send them a message but for some reason she didn't today,

"A little flower told me that you had a nice surprise this morning," She said as she looked at Jack, who was still sitting in the chair, "I'm gonna give Nicholas the same treatment." Nicholas was North's actual name but Paro was pretty much the only one who called him that. North was the Guardian of Wonder and the man that Paro loves more than Nature itself. Their love had started about 600 years ago but only in the last 20 years were they allowed to be together. The oath Paro had to take in order to become a Spirit of Healing prevented the ones who took it to have relationship but after the incident that nearly cost Paro her life, her mother, Seraphina, change the oath. Now, Paro and the others could have platonic relationships, if they wanted.

"I know exactly how I'm going to surprise him but I need you guys' help."

"What do you need us for?" Jack asked as he joined the two women. Paro smiled and explained her idea.

* * *

Jack was peering over the edge of an empty workbench, trying to get a glimpse of his target. It was his job to get North out of his workroom without raising suspicion that Paro was there. As he looked over the edge, he silently cursed when he saw that the door of the workroom was closed. He couldn't just knock; he would need a good excuse to do that and the only good excuse he could think of was that the globe wasn't working but Jack had used that trick before so North wouldn't fall for that again. As he contemplated his options, he remembered the brilliant idea he come up with that morning: throwing snowballs at North. Jack knew he would probably get a lecture from him later (North was pretty much his father) but he had to get him out of the room.

With a perfect snowball in his hand, Jack eyed the door once more. With a swift movement, he swung his arm and threw the ball of snow. It hit the door close by the knob but instead of movement, Jack heard North's voice grumble. Jack face palmed himself when he realized that North probably thought that it was somebody knocking rather than Jack pulling another prank. Jack threw a bigger snowball which hit the door at almost the same spot as the first one but this time there was silence behind the door. After another few seconds of contemplating, Jack decided to throw one more snowball. If that didn't work then he would knock. He launched the snowball with the same swift and accurate swing as always, aiming higher on the door. What Jack hadn't counted on was North opening the door and the snowball flying onto his face.

Jack ducked behind the bench as North sputtered loudly when the snow dissolved to water,

"I'm in trouble." Jack thought. Glancing over the edge, Jack worried about the next part of the plan: getting North to the globe. After another quick glimpse over the edge and seeing North's blue eyes looking around him for the culprit, Jack decided that his best option was to run and get some distance between himself and North. When North looked in the direction opposite of him, Jack stood up and ran towards the globe, getting only a few seconds worth of distance before North spotted him.

Jack could hear North pursuing him but he didn't look back, fearing that it would slow him down. Jack thought himself to be a pretty fast runner; the only problem was that North was faster. Before North became a guardian, he was, supposedly, a ruffian and a thief so the ability to run fast was necessary and, apparently, North never lost that ability. As Jack ran to the center of the room where the globe was, he had excepted to see Paro and Rapunzel but the room was empty of any form of live, including the yetis and the elves. Jack came to a stop; not a wise decision. Jack felt North grabbing him by the scruff of his hoodie, lifting him into the air like he was a rag doll. Jack looked at North and chuckled nervously, afterwards giving him an awkward smile.

"Two pranks in one day?" North asked in his burly Russian accent, "That has got to be a record." Jack was surprised that North didn't sound angry but rather amused. He gave North another awkward smile as North looked to his left and right, "Ok, where's Rapunzel?" Jack shrugged his shoulders but doubted if North could see it,

"Don't know." North gave Jack a look of clear disbelief and, surprisingly, he smiled,

"Jack," He started, "I know you. The only time you come to the North Pole during the winter is to visit Rapunzel and…" Jack got distracted from North as he saw Paro and Rapunzel standing behind North, their hands covering their mouths to stifle their laughter. Jack gave them a look which clearly said "a little help?" The two women looked at each other and then they charged North, tackling him onto the ground. North dropped Jack and immediately became occupied with wrestling against his attackers.

"Rapunzel! Merida! Get off me!" North yelled with a combination of laughter though he yelled more to the floor than to his attackers. Jack burst out laughing; North still hadn't realized that it was Paro, not Merida, who was wrestling with him. Surprisingly, the two women managed to keep North pinned to the ground, despite his strength. Paro gave Rapunzel a look and Rapunzel responded by nodding and rolling away from the wrestle match. Both Jack and Rapunzel were stunned that Paro, despite her small figure, was actually able to hold down the struggling North all by herself. Suddenly, in a movement that hardly anybody caught, Paro managed to roll North onto his back. She was now sitting on his stomach, her legs on either side of him, and her hands held his wrist above his head and pinned to the floor. She looked at North, whose expression was a mix of shock, surprise, and happiness,

"Paro?!" Paro chuckled and smiled brightly, panting a little

"Hello, Nicholas." she smiled again and leaned forward so her face was only inches away from his. Jack expected her to give North a kiss but instead she whispered something to him, causing his expression to change a serious one. North murmured something to Paro in Russian and she nodded, afterwards sliding onto the ground.

"What is going on here?" Somebody yelled. They all looked up and there on other side of the room stood Hiccup and Merida. Jack, Rapunzel, Merida and Hiccup made up the group that the mortal world called 'the Seasons.' They made sure that the seasons work they way they should but they also helped to protect the children of the world like the Guardians of Childhood do, which North was the leader of. Because of this, the Seasons had two centers. Along with their respectable season, Rapunzel was the Guardian of Creativity and Jack was the Guardian of Fun.

Hiccup is the Guardian of Fall and Knowledge. He was about six feet tall with muscle that he accumulated in recent years, auburn hair with bangs that was just above his eyebrows, and forest green eyes. He was wearing a green buttoned-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, light-gray jeans, and on his left foot, he was wearing a brown sneaker while the only thing visible on his right foot was some metal that was part of a prosthetic Hiccup wore to replace his missing shin. Of the four of them, Hiccup was the oldest but how old exactly nobody knew since Hiccup was shy and very secretive, especially when somebody asked about his past or how he became a Guardian. Despite his unwillingness to talk about his past, Hiccup was intelligent, loyal, hard-working, and a strong leader and strategist. His partner-in-crime, as he liked to call it, was Merida.

Merida is the Guardian of Summer and Bravery. She was the second eldest of the group but she was shorter than Hiccup and Jack. She had a slender build with curly red hair, cerulean eyes, and a few freckles splattered on her face. Though her looks seem to suggest a personality that was more lady-like, Merida was tough, defiant, unruly, and headstrong with a tomboy attitude and a heavy Scottish accent. But, despite her rough personality, Merida was brave, kind, and had a strong sense of loyalty. She was wearing a dark blue tang-top, which clearly showed three large scars that were equal distance apart, with black skinny jeans and sneakers. The scars she claimed she got in the confrontation with a bear that ultimately ended her life though Hiccup claimed that the scars were too small to be a bear's. He probably just said it to annoy her and Merida had immediately retorted back that Hiccup couldn't tell the difference between a dragon and a wyvern. And the one thing that made Merida who she is was her trusted bow. She had it slung over her shoulder and a quiver filled with arrows tied around her waist; she was as inseparable from her bow as Jack was with his staff.

"Nothing." Paro replied, "Just surprising Nicholas; that's all"

"Oh, hello Paro." Hiccup said when he saw her. North grunted as he lifted himself off the ground and held out his hand to Paro, who took hold of it and lifted herself. He said something to her in Russian and she replied in the same language. North, still holding her hand, walked in the direction of his workroom with Paro following him, leaving the other to do whatever they wanted.

**Not my best way to end a chapter but I was, again, lacking creativity. If I can think of a better ending, I'll change it. Review, favourite, follow.**


	4. Chapter 3

**So sorry it took so long! I've been focusing too much on **_**Until the End**_**. I'm gonna be paying more attention to his one. Again sorry. Note: don't expect any updates from May 21 to 24 'cause school production of **_**Guys and Dolls **_**goes up and I'm in it.**

**For any Dutchies out there: Leve de koning! Enjoy!**

**Chapter #3**

North opened the door to his workroom and entered, followed by Paro who locked the door behind her; she needed to talk to North and him alone. Paro slowly turned and looked at North, who was leaning against his work bench with his latest creation behind him. Paro walked to the fire, which was blazing merrily in the fireplace, and just stared at it. An uncomfortable silence hung in the room before Paro decided to break it, the worry heard easily in her voice,

"When was the last time you talked to MIM?" If he had been expecting something, this was definitely not it. North pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, trying to remember the last time,

"Not sure." He finally said. Paro looked at him and he opened his eyes to meet her gaze, running his fingers through his dark brown hair, "A few weeks ago." Paro turned, her back facing the fire,

"Did he say anything out of the ordinary or act strange?" Now Paro's face was fraught with worry which causes North to get worried; something bad must be going on for her to be this worried. He couldn't remember the entire conversation but he did recall that MIM asked how the Seasons were doing but that wasn't too out of the ordinary; he asked that every-now-and-then. He shook his head,

"No, nothing. Why do you ask?" North asked as he straightened himself. Paro sighed and rubbed her hands on her face. After massaging her forehead until it tuned red, she dropped her hands and looked at him,

"My mother and Sister Sun have been acting very strange these past few weeks." Paro explained, "My mother hasn't said a single word to me for about two weeks now and some friends from the Order told me that Sister Sun has been taking long and unexplained leaves from the palace." Paro sighed again and ran her hand over her smooth scalp, "But that's not all," She looked at North, who now carried the same worried expression as she, "Nicholas, I've been sensing something. Something powerful. Something…..dark." As soon as she said 'dark', North walked to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, hoping it would calm her down, "I'm very worried." Paro said. She bowed her head and bit her lip. North lifted gently held on to her chin and lifted her head, green orbs meeting blue,

"It's not Pitch, Paro." He gave her a reassuring smile but the only reply was another sigh,

"I wish I could be as certain." she whispered. North took one of his hands off of her shoulder and placed it on her cheek, the other hand sliding down her arm. He leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Paro sighed and closed her eyes, placing her hand on top of North's and gently wrapping her fingers around it.

"It's not Pitch." North repeated. Paro opened her eyes to meet North's dead-serious ones, "You know what happens to those who break their deals with Lucifer and Pitch's chances of escaping the Underworld are next to impossible." North gave another smile and this time Paro smiled too. She wrapped her arms around North and leaned her head against chest; North smiled again and wrapped his arms around her small body

* * *

Eloise was standing in front of a large mirror, looking in complete focus at the image in front of her. Instead of her own reflection, she was staring at North and Paro, who were still in the embrace,

"Next to impossible, huh?" Eloise scoffed. She waved her hand over the image and it disappeared with a rippling effect. She turned around and walked down a few steps made of yellow brick, her footsteps faintly echoing through the circular room. Eloise could not understand how Paro could be related to Pitch. She didn't even look like him; the only resemblance she could see was Paro's black hair but that was a minor resemblance. Even Seraphina didn't carry any resemblance to Pitch; the woman even looked older than him.

After pacing around the room for several minutes, Eloise walked back to the mirror and waved her hand over it causing the rippling effect to return. The image came to a stop and Pitch was clearly visible in the mirror as if he was in the room with her,

"Yes?" Pitch asked in a tone that was more appropriate for a business partner than to somebody you have feelings for,

"The deed has to be done tonight." Eloise replied sternly in the same tone. Pitch wasn't given the chance to reply as Eloise kept talking, "Somebody has been spying on me and told that brat Paro everything. If we don't hurry, everything will become undone." Pitch still didn't reply instead he nodded,

"How will you get them to the spot?" he asked,

"I have my ways but they'll be there."

"Good. We'll meet back in my lair when it's done." Eloise nodded and waved her hand over the mirror again and Pitch disappeared from the image, leaving behind a normal-looking mirror.

* * *

It was night-time at the North Pole and the workshop was quiet; everybody was sound asleep. Well, almost everybody. Hiccup had been in his bed for a few hours now but he had not slept a wink. He was staring at the ceiling, trying to will himself to sleep but he found it impossible to do. Only a few hours before, he had had another fight with Merida. The two of them fighting was nothing new but this fight was definitely one of the worst they ever had. Merida had asked him once again about his past and when he had once again refused to tell her, she scolded him and yelled at him, asking why he wouldn't tell her. He had yelled right back at her that his past was his business and no one else's. She had asked then how he could work with the Seasons if he could not even trust them.

He turned to his right side, using his arm to support his head, and stared at the large black Night Fury on the other side of the room. Toothless was Hiccup's dragon and Hiccup's best friend, next to Merida. The two of them have been together for longer then they could remember and were close to inseparable; were one went, so went the other. Toothless was sleeping peacefully with his head leaning against his large forelegs, his chest going up and down steadily. After watching the dragon for a few minutes, Hiccup turned back onto his back and closed his eyes.

"_Hiccup!_" a voice yelled. Hiccup shot up and looked around him but there was nothing.

"Odd." he thought and lay back down,

"_Hiccup!_" it was the same voice again but louder. Hiccup sat up again and took a glimpse at Toothless, who still sleeping peacefully and unaware of Hiccup's movement, which he usually sensed. Groaning, Hiccup threw his blanket off, put on his prosthetic and a shirt, and left his room quietly. He looked left and right. To the left, the hallway led to Merida's room and to the right, the hallway led to meeting room and the globe.

"The voice was female." Hiccup started to move to the left when the voice suddenly yelled again,

"_Where are you going? This way!_" Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the voice again.

"What is going on?" Hiccup turned around and headed for the meeting room. As he approached the room, he had expected the voice to start talking again but it remained silent. He reached the room; he was surprised to see nothing unusual. The globe was filled with dots of the many believers and the fire was cracking quietly

"Hiccup?" Hiccup looked around him and saw Rapunzel standing across from him in her black sweats and purple shirt that made up her pajamas.

"What are you doing up?" Hiccup asked, crossing his arms,

"Could ask you the same thing." She replied, "But if you must know, I kept hearing this voice in my head and-"

"You heard a voice too?" He interrupted and she replied with a nod. As they began to discuss what was going on, little did they notice a pair of amber eyes floating in the shadows. Long black strands of black sand emerged from it and slithered quietly towards the two Guardians. In a quick flash, the sand lashed out to Rapunzel and gagged her and tied her wrists together. Hiccup was flabbergasted and immediately ran to Rapunzel and tugged and the restraints on her wrists

She gave a muffled yell and looked in fear at something behind him. Hiccup turned around but he wasn't prepared for the blow in his abdomen that blew all the air out of his lungs. It was quickly followed by a blow on his face and he fell to the floor. His mouth hit the tile and he tasted something disgusting in his mouth. He rolled onto his back and only briefly saw the Nightmare King smirking before nightmare sand gagged him and dragged him into the shadows with Rapunzel. The King chuckled and disappeared, leaving the Pole silent.

**In **_**Cursed**_**, I had an apple and now a magic mirror. Am I hinting something? That's up to you to decide. I really don't want to sound demanding or anything but if you guys could pop down a few reviews that would be awesome 'cause I love reading them and they encourage me to keep writing and right now I need a bit more encouragement with this story. Review, favourite, follow.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Not really sure what to say but enjoy is a little too cheerful compared to what's going to happen in this chapter. I might actually be able to update sometime during May 21-24 because I've already started writing it and it's about 30-50% done but can't promise anything.**

**Chapter #4**

Hiccup blinked his eyed wearily at a bright light. His vision was fuzzy, his head was pounding and he couldn't feel his arms. He tried to move them but something was restraining them. He fought against the restraints but with each struggle, they grew tighter around his wrists. He let out a pained groan and stopped resisting, his head falling to his chest. He saw his foot but nothing where his prosthetic should have been.

"Looking for something?" A familiar voice asked. Hiccup looked up at the source of the voice: the light that had woken him. Its brightness began to dim and Hiccup saw a woman with golden hair and eyes wearing a long dress of a similar gold colour. Her entire body was surrounded by light giving her skin a yellow colour. Being the Guardian of Knowledge, Hiccup immediately saw that the woman was part of the Order of the Sun for they were the only ones surrounded by light. The Order referred to those chosen by the Sun, who's known in the Guardian world as Sister Sun. Those by the Sun protected adults and adolescents and helped them through difficult times and help them make the right choices.

The woman put up her hand and in it was Hiccup's prosthetic. The woman started to examine the contraption, "This is very interesting." she whispered before eyeing the tied-up Guardian, "I suspect you made this yourself." Hiccup remained silent, figuring it was his best weapon at the moment; the woman's voice sounded so familiar,

"_Of course I made it myself!"_

"You did?" the woman replied and Hiccup looked at her, his expression one of confusion, "You're a very talented Viking."

"_A mind reader! Great!"_

"That's not very nice." The woman pouted and the prosthetic suddenly burst into flame. He now recognized the woman's voice; it was the one he heard last night, the one that had led him to the Globe!

"Eloise, stop teasing our guest." Behind Eloise, from the shadows, came the face of the man Hiccup has always dreaded and had hoped he would never have to see again: Pitch Black, King of Nightmares.

"Guest?' Eloise teasingly said, "I thought he was a prisoner."

"It's been a long time, Hiccup. You're more even more gullible than I remember; it almost too easy to lure you and Rapunzel to the Globe." Hiccup remembered! Rapunzel!

"Where's Rapunzel?! What did you do to her!?" Pitch let out a chuckle and he flicked his wrist. The shadows beside Hiccup retreated and revealed Rapunzel lying on the cold ground in a heap, unconscious and deathly pale. Hiccup was revealed when he saw her chest going up and down, if only a little, but an angry boiled in him for his captors.

"What do you want from us?!" All anger in him was released in that one sentence,

"You know very well what I want." Pitch walked towards Hiccup and knelt in front of him, his yellow piercing Hiccup's, "I want that item that supposedly makes your deepest desires, your deepest wishes, come true." . Hiccup turned his head away from him. Pitch roughly grabbed Hiccup's hair, pulling hard and forcing Hiccup to face him. "Where is it?"

"There's no way I'm telling you." Pitch stared at him a little bit longer. The King stood up and walked back to Eloise, placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering something into her ear. She looked at him and nodded. She took a step forward and looked at Hiccup in complete focus. She stared at him, her expression slowly turning into one of straining. She let out a frustrated groan and her expression relaxed,

"This man is wiser than they give him credit for. He's locked all memories of it; I can't access them. The only way we'll be able to get them out is to force them out." Pitch looked at Eloise then at Hiccup, an almost sadistic glint in his eyes.

"That shouldn't be too difficult." Pitch walked to the unconscious Rapunzel, knelt beside her, and grabbed her unharmed leg. A loud snap and Rapunzel's eyes snapped open and her white-hot scream filled the room,

"NO! STOP IT! DON'T HURT HER!" He fought against the restraints as Pitch just smirked. Hiccup felt the tears well up in his eyes as he watched Rapunzel suffer; his heart sank lower than the ocean when he saw her cry from the pain and panting unevenly, her arms wrapped around herself. Pitch walked away from her and stopped in front of Hiccup.

"Then tell me where it is." Hiccup fell silent as fear overwhelmed him; he couldn't tell them. Rapunzel looked at him and weakly shook her head; he had to keep Pitch's attention on him and the best way to do that was silence. Hiccup's head suddenly shot to his right and his cheek burned, "TELL ME!" Pitch yelled. Hiccup slowly turned his head and gave the King a look that could kill,

"Never." Pitch looked at Eloise and gave her a nod. Hiccup didn't see what happened but a searing hot pain hit his shoulder. He tried not to scream but it was in vain and he let out an ear-piercing scream. The torture that followed lasted forever; they hit him, kicked him and burned him. They tried everything to get Hiccup to reveal but with every punch, with every burn and cut, he refused. When it was finally over, Hiccup was exhausted and numb with pain. His shirt had ripped in many places; some rips were scorched while others were soaked with blood. His head was dangling and he heard the evil laugh of his torturer.

"You seem a little tired." Pitch hissed. With a swish of his wrist, the black sand began to move to Hiccup; over his legs, up his chest, towards his eyes. "Have a sweet nightmare" was the last thing he heard before his world was engulfed in black.

* * *

Paro woke up feeling a little uneasy. Uneasy because she had had a nightmare last night. She knew it couldn't have been Pitch; how could he cause nightmares if he was locked in the Underworld? But despite this fact, she was still uneasy.

She couldn't recall the nightmare but what she did recall was everyone she loved dying around her; her mother, North... A shiver ran down her spine at the thought; she couldn't lose them, not both.

She got out of bed and used her magic to change out of her nightgown back into the long choli and white churidar lest North would wake up and catch her in an embarrassing moment. The dark blue of yesterday's choli had been replaced by green and she now wore earrings and had a small gold nose ring. Her hair was still in the braided low bun.

She walked out of the room and headed for the meeting room. When she walked by Hiccup's room, her power-sensing nerve started tingling. She stopped, walked back to the door, and ran her fingers over it, trying to feel for a spell. A Silencing spell is what she found; when cast on a room, you wouldn't be able to hear anything from the outside if you were in the room.

The feeling of uneasiness grew as she walked away from the door and continued towards the meeting room. When she arrived, all the lights were still out but that quickly changed at a snap of her fingers. The room became ablaze with light and North Pole started to come to live. It was then that Paro spotted an odd pattern on the floor. It was only a small difference but it stood out among the other patterns. She knelt down and ran her fingers over the three large spots of reddish brown. As she examined it, she noticed it had a close resemblance to...

"Blood." she whispered. Before she knew it, her feet were riding the wind back to Hiccup's room. Not bothering to knock, she swung open the enchanted door and gasped when she saw the empty bed but another gasp came louder when she saw the still-sleeping dragon. It didn't make sense; Hiccup wouldn't go anywhere without Toothless unless... Reality hit Paro harder than a rock; the spell, the blood, and the dragon, it all added up to one conclusion: abduction. It all makes sense! The spell would've been cast so that Toothless wouldn't be able to hear what was happening and come to the rescue and the blood indicated that Hiccup had fought against his abductor. But who would kidnap Hiccup and why and how had the abductors snuck into the Pole? Next thing she knew she was running back to her room, not noticing the waking dragon. When she threw the door open, North was woken by the sound of the impact. He began to mumble something Russian but she wasn't listening,

"Nicholas, get up!" Paro grabbed a long blue shirt and threw it at him. It hit him in his face,

"What's going on?" he asked sleepily

"Hiccup is missing." North's eyes shot open as his fatherly instinct instantly kicked in. He got out of bed and hastily got dressed, making a huge mess in the process. When he was done, he opened his mouth to ask something but he froze instantly when he heard the worried screech of a Night Fury.

* * *

The screech of the dragon woke everyone at the Pole. When most of them had arrived in the meeting room, they saw the dragon pacing frantically around the room, shaking his head and making weird noises. Merida tried to soothe the dragon but so far was unsuccessful. Merida continued to rub her hand on the scales when Jack came running in, half-dressed and distraught,

"Have any of you seen Rapunzel?" No one said anything, just looking at each other but they were all thinking the same thing: that Rapunzel had been abducted too.

"We have to contact the others." North paced to the machine where he could contact the other Guardians. Before he even touched the equipment, a bright beam of moonlight shone down and blinded North. He stumbled back, his arm protecting his eyes. When he was out of the light, he dared a glimpse and in it, a figure was appearing. The light disappeared, leaving behind a man in silver white robes. He stood up straight and looked at all present

"That can wait, Guardian of Wonder." He said sternly. North had no idea who he was but before he could even ask, a wind started blowing but not the cold Artic one. This wind was warm like the kind from the rainforest. There were pink flower petals blowing with the wind and they were moving to the ground and starting to form into a funnel as more and more petals joined. The wind suddenly died and the petals disappeared. What the funnel had been hiding was a woman with long pitch black hair, decorated with one white streak, wearing a nature green dress. They all knew who the woman was but no one knew the identity of the man

"Mother!" Paro ran to the woman and gave her a quick bow before embracing her. The woman smiled and returned the hug. The woman was Seraphina, Paro's mother and Mother Nature. Seraphina was the one that had prevented Paro and North from being together but after the incident and realizing her mistake, Seraphina let them be together and reconciled with her daughter in the process. The two let go of their embrace and Paro looked questioningly at her mother and the man,

"What are you and Tsar Lunar doing here?"

_Tsar Lunar!_ North thought. Tsar Lunar was the real name of the one that chose North and the other, except Paro, to become Guardians. Tsar Lunar was more commonly known as the Man in the Moon and he was one of three Choosers: the ones who choose who gets to become either a Spirit or a Guardian. The other two Choosers were Mother Nature and Sister Sun.

"Eloise is missing." Seraphina explained,

"What!? Since when?' Paro exclaimed,

"Wait! Who's-" Merida started when without warning, the largest window in the room shattered into a million pieces, a flickering light falling onto the floor and the cold wind blowing fast through the room. The temperature dropped so low, so fast that even Jack felt cold. Everyone lifted their hands and arms in front of their faces, attempting to protect themselves but Seraphina threw her hands up in the air, her long black hair sailing in the wind, and, as if someone had pushed a time-reverse button, the shards of glass picked themselves up and flew back to their original spots in the window. Cracks or any evidence of breakage was gone.

The light that had blown through the window was lying motionless on the floor. It flickered a few times before it disappeared. What was left behind was a person; a man. Everybody was staring at the man; nobody recognized him. Nobody but Paro; she was certain she had seen that chestnut brown hair and that golden bow before but where? She slowly moved towards the man, her hand stretched out. Her walking stopped when North grabbed her arm. When she looked at him, she could clearly see the uncertainty in his face. She placed her hand on his and gave a nod. North let her go and she continued towards the man.

As she knelt down beside him, the man let out a groan and rolled onto his back then sat up. When he opened his eyes, Paro knew who he was; she'd recognize those gray eyes anywhere.

"Helios!"

"Paro?" At the same time, they snatched each other up in a tight hug. Paro shut her watered eyes.

"After all these years." she whispered. They held their embrace for a long time, much to North's annoyance. He could see from Helios' expression that he was enjoying Paro's embrace much more than a friend would. Watching them together, North felt a new heat pulse through him, one he had never felt before; a heat called jealousy. Paro let go of the embrace and placed her hands on the sides of Helios' face,

"Why are you here? What happened to your light?"

"That's not important right now. Paro," Helios looked at her with dead seriousness and fear, "Eloise is in league with Pitch." The room fell silent; it stayed that way for only a moment as Paro began to shake her head,

"No, she can't be. She wouldn't be. Why would she be?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Merida yelled, "Who's Eloise?" Paro looked at Helios while Seraphina and Tsar Lunar looked each other but the reply was a booming and angry female voice,

"You really don't know?!" It was Eloise. She was floating on an island of light that appeared dull next to the light surrounding her body. She was looking at the Guardians in anger. But she was not alone, for on the globe, from a shadow, came a man clad completely in black: Pitch. "Of course everybody has heard of the Man in the Moon and Mother Nature," Eloise continued, "but nobody has ever heard of Sister Sun!"

**Oh, North's got some competition! That was the first torture scene I have ever written and to be honest, it was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Stay tuned for the next chapter 'cause another first for me is going to happen: character death. SPOILER! Review, favourite, follow**


	6. Chapter 5

**Honestly don't know what to say but once again enjoy is bit too happy for this chapter.**

**Chapter #5**

"Eloise, what are you doing here!?" Seraphina yelled and Eloise smiled,

"I've come to get something from you." She said coolly as she floated to the ground and began to walk to Seraphina,

"What?" Seraphina tried to sound brave but there was a slight trace of fear in her voice, enough for Pitch to feel it,

"Revenge."

"Why?"

"You know very well why! You killed my parents! I prayed for days for you to heal them but you never did and I stood by and I watched them waste away from that accursed illness!" Eloise was now standing in front of Seraphina, her eyes ablaze with hatred,

"I didn't kill your parents!" Seraphina retorted, "Time killed them! I was on my way but I came too late! Why can't y-"

Seraphina suddenly let out a pained gasp and her face turned into grimace. Eloise had embedded her arm into Seraphina's chest and an odd purple-gray light was surrounding it. In a swift motion, she pulled her arm out and Seraphina collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily.

"Mother!" Paro kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her mother's back and the other one on her shoulder. Seraphina's chest hurt a little and she felt weird. She looked at Eloise and saw the orb of green light floating in her hand. Fear hit Seraphina hard and she knew she had to get the light back before something horrible happened to her or worse to Paro.

Eloise played with the orb and was smiling at it,

"Fascinating, isn't it?" She asked, talking more to herself.

"What is that!?" Merida yelled and Eloise looked at her, the orb flying in-between her fingers,

"That is a little something we Choosers like to call the Source."

She blew into her palm and the orb went flying, stopping in front of Seraphina. When she tried to grab it, it flew out of her reach,

"Eloise, give it back. You know what it can do, the power it contains."

"Power?" North asked. Eloise let out a soft chuckle,

"It's funny to think that this little orb of light contains more power than any of you will accumulate in your entire immortal life." she looked at the Guardians and smiled when she saw the fear on Seraphina's face, "It can do almost anything." She swished her wrist and the orb disappeared and re-appeared in Pitch hand. "Even things that some would believe to be impossible." Eloise looked at Pitch who responded by bring the orb to his mouth and whispering something to it. When Pitch lowered his hand, Seraphina sat up and looked at Paro,

"Mother, what-" Suddenly Seraphina snatched Paro throat and squeezed so hard that Paro couldn't breathe a wisp of air. Paro grabbed Seraphina's wrist, trying to pull it off, and stunned to see her mother's expression was not hate or anger but fear.

Watching them, North knew immediately what was happening; Pitch was controlling Seraphina and was using her to kill Paro. In his mind he apologized and he kicked Seraphina hard on her side. Seraphina rolled away from Paro, groaning loudly from the pain. Paro took in several deep and wheezing breaths and she coughed loudly as the air returned to her. North had no time to check if she was alright as Seraphina got up and faced him, ready to fight. Seraphina's green eyes had become black and hollow and void of any warmth or live.

North could barely dodge the spells she was casting; he dodged to the left and then to the right but Seraphina began to cast faster,

"North!" Merida yelled. He looked over his shoulder briefly to see Merida throwing one of his trusty swords. He held up his hand, keeping an eye on the controlled Chooser, another spell forming in her hand. North felt the familiar cold metal slide into his hand and quickly reflected the cast spell off of the blade. The spell hit Seraphina in her stomach. The Chooser stumbled back and much to North's dismay, Seraphina was still controlled. Pitch brought the orb to his mouth again, smiling at the ensuing battle, and whispered something.

In Seraphina's hand appeared a sword. If North had ever met his match, this was nothing like it. He'd never seen Seraphina use a weapon and yet she was wielding the sword with a grace, a speed, a precision that North could not compare to. Seraphina sliced her sword again and it slashed into North's arm, leaving behind a large and heavily bleeding gash. He ignored it and their swords clashed together. He lowered them at looked at the angry Seraphina,

"I'm sorry." He whispered and he head-butted her as hard as he could. She stumbled back, dropping her sword which disappeared, holding her hand to her head. She looked up at North and he was relieved to see her real green eyes, looking confused. She looked behind North and ran to Paro, collapsing onto her knees. While North had been fighting, Helios had been checking if she was alright. He had his hand on her back and using the other to examine the red markings on her neck and throat.

"Oh, Paro." Seraphina cried, "I'm so sorry." Paro gave her mother a weak smile and placed her hand onto of hers, squeezing it lightly. Seraphina took hold of Paro's hand and gave a light peck on it, completely forgetting that Pitch and Eloise were still present.

The two had been watching everything and were less than displeased to see Seraphina out of her trance and Paro alive,

"Goodbye, Seraphina." Pitch whispered and he clenched his fist, reducing the Source to less than dust.

Seraphina's grip on Paro's hand turned into a death-grip. She hunched over, hand over her heart, and taking raspy and gasping breaths. Paro was scared; she didn't know what was happening, she had never seen her mother like this. She took Seraphina in her arms and looked at her.

"I forgot to mention." Pitch's voiced boomed and they all looked up at him, "The Source was the only thing that was keeping your precious mother…..alive."

Paro let out a gasp and the tears threatened to take over her eyes. She looked at her mother, feeling absolutely helpless; there was nothing she could do to save her.

"Mother?" She whispered quietly and Seraphina stared up at her daughter, her chest barely going up and down,

"I-I'm sorry." She said with a few breaths that were among her last. Paro couldn't see the light that briefly illuminated Seraphina's hand. She tried to lift her hand but it fell back to the floor; motionless,

"Mother?" Paro whispered and water began to form in her eyes. Paro shook Seraphina but her head lolled back and forth, her eyes, void of all life, staring at her. "Mom?" Paro squeaked with a breaking voice, the tears going down her cheeks in waves. Paro gently laid Seraphina's body onto the ground and closed her still-open eyes. Paro felt the sorrow overwhelm her and she bowed forward, her nose nearly touching the floor, and began to pull her hair, her eyes tightly shut and the tears dripping to the floor. Paro could hear footsteps in front of her and behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw North, holding his sword loosely as the blood of his wound started to drip onto his hand. When she looked in front of her, when found herself looking at her mother's murderer: Pitch. She stood up with an uncontrollable rage and snatched North's sword from his hand and charged at Pitch with a terrifying war cry. Pitch smirked as he watched her charge but didn't move.

There was a loud clank of metal hitting wood resonating through the room and Paro's frustrated groan when she saw the sword lodged into the floor, not Pitch. Through her heavy breathing, she could hear slow footsteps approach her. She stood stalk-still, waiting for the right moment to strike. The footsteps stopped only inches behind her.

"_Now!"_

Paro turned around, swinging the sword over her head to strike but before she was even close to striking, she felt hands wrap around her wrists, blocking the attack. Her rage was replaced with shock when she found herself looking at North, looking as shocked as she was.

"Drop it." He whispered. She knew he was talking about the sword but her shock was so great that she couldn't move a muscle; her mother had been murdered in front of he and she nearly kill the man she loved with his own weapon.

"Drop it" He repeated, his hands wrapping themselves tighter around her wrists. She looked at him, scared and tears filling her eyes again, and she let go. The sword fell to the floor loudly, the clanking echoing a thousand times. His grip and expression relaxed but the worry never left his face.

Breathing heavily, Paro felt the shock that racked her body leave but it was replaced by something else: sorrow and pain.

North let go of her wrists but as soon as he did, Paro's legs gave out. She was nowhere near the floor when he caught her. He wrapped his strong arms around her while Paro buried her head into his shoulder, letting out loud wails and sobs as the tears began to flow without stop. He lowered the two of them onto their knee, never letting go of her, and started to sway back and forth a little, hoping it would comfort her.

Pitch had returned to his spot on top of the Globe. Eloise had left shortly after he killed Seraphina but they would meet back at his lair. He turned his attention away from the weeping Paro to Merida, who was looking at him with a look that could kill,

"If you ever want to see your precious Spring and Fall Guardian alive then you and Jack must come to my lair. Alone." He said as he pointed at her. "If you bring anyone else, you'll regret it for the rest of your immortal lives and don't bother asking the other Guardians for help because they will not come." Pitch threw a cloud of black sand at something. There was a loud explosion and then the Pole fell silent once again.

**That was my first character death ever (Be glad it wasn't one of the Big Four). Review, favourite, follow**


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry it took so long but my life has been hectic the last few weeks. I had work, writer's block and exams are starting soon. Good news regarding the exams is that I only have to write exams for 2 subjects.**

**This chapter will be mostly explanatory, sooooooo yeah. Enjoy.**

**Chapter #6**

After the explosion, the only thing that could be heard was Paro's sobs. The pain she felt was near unbearable. It was not only pain caused by the loss of a loved one but pain from something you've never wanted. Her only comfort was North. He still had his arms wrapped around her and was caressing her scalp trying to soothe her. She buried her face into his shoulder, clinging tightly onto his shirt, and sobbed quietly.

Only when she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder did she turn away from the shoulder. She looked and saw Helios, her best friend, kneeling beside her with a weak smile but a worried expression. Movement behind Helios caught Paro's attention and she watched Tsar Lunar kneeling beside her mother's body. He muttered something-a spell- and Seraphina's body was surrounded by light and disappeared. With a sigh, Tsar Lunar stood up,

"North, we need to talk." Paro felt North's arms wrap tighter around her. She looked up at him to meet his worried gaze,

"Go, Nicholas." she whispered. She didn't want him to leave but she knew that whatever Tsar Lunar wanted to talk to him about must be important, "Pitch has Hiccup and Rapunzel and the longer we wait, the more they suffer." North looked at her and his expression told her everything: he didn't want to leave her. She felt his arms wrap around her tighter.

"I'll stay with her." Helios offered. North's arms once again wrapped themselves tighter. Paro looked up at him; what is it with men? She gave a light squeeze in his arm. When he looked at her, she gave a light nod.

North was reluctant. He trusted Paro but he didn't trust Helios. Who was that man and how did he know Paro? He could tell that she only saw Helios as a friend but did Helios have the same feelings?

With more reluctance, he loosened his arms. Slowly she moved away from him and towards Helios, who moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her when she was close enough. North took hold of her hand,

"I'll be back soon, I promise." He whispered in Russian and she nodded. Her eyes suddenly saw the still-bleeding wound on his arm. She slowly waved her free hand over it, working her healing magic. As he expected, not a scar remained. He caressed her cheek and smiled. She replied with a sad smile as he stood up, slowly letting go of their held hands. He stood up and began to walk away, Tsar Lunar joining behind him. While he was, North did not see the fire that seemed to be blazing in Helios' eyes

As he walked with Tsar Lunar, North discovered the source of the explosion: the machinery Pitch had destroyed the machinery that activated the Northern Lights. As he walked past it, North solemnly thought,

_We are alone._

* * *

"So, now what?" North asked as he entered his workroom with Tsar Lunar following closely behind him. He closed the door behind him and locked it too.

"You know very well what." Tsar started quietly "Seraphina named Paro her heir; it's up to her to resume Seraphina's duties as Mother Nature and leader of the Spirits of Healing"

"She's never wanted that power. Ever." North turned around to glare at Tsar

"I know!" Tsar snapped back, "But what do you expect me to do? Give the responsibilities to Fleur or Melati or Rayen? Of the six of them, Paro is the only one that has any experienced with Nature magic and the one that has the most discipline." Tsar slammed his fist against the wall, rattling some of the decorations, and looked away from North. Tsar was frustrated, that much North got, but about what he couldn't figure out unless-

"Something's bothering you, old friend." North tried and when he got no reply, he assumed that was the reason, "What is it?" Tsar let out a sigh and massaged his forehead, his eyes closed,

"I had foreseen this day over 600 years ago." He opened his eyes and stared absentmindedly at the fire, recalling what he had said to Seraphina all those years ago, "I told Seraphina that her death would come at the hands of a man Paro would meet during her first travels into the human world." The Tsar looked at the Guardian of Wonder. North would be lying if he said he wasn't confused because Paro's first journey was, in a way, her last "That's why she enforced the vow of Chastity." Tsar Lunar continued, "She hoped that with such a vow that Paro would stay away from men during her journeys but she made the mistake of allowing her to approach men that were near death due to wounds or illness." He looked at North with an expression that said 'no offence', "That prophecy is why she separated you and Paro; she feared you were that man but-"

"But I didn't kill Seraphina." North interrupted, "Pitch did."

"Let me finish," Tsar replied in a pissed-off tone, "What Seraphina didn't realize was that you weren't the only man Paro met. She had also met Pitch." The whole explanation did clear up some questions but then created even more,

"But if she knew this would happen then why did she allow Paro and I to be together?" Tsar sighed and sat down,

"I told Seraphina that she could not deny what had been written in the stars and by the time she allowed you two to be together, she had accepted her fate." Tsar looked at North and held his hand up when North opened his mouth to ask more questions, "She did not know how or when her death would happen even I didn't know but I never thought Eloise would be involved."

"Why did Eloise want Seraphina dead?" North questioned. He remembered that Eloise said something about her parents and an "accursed disease" but for him it didn't add up. Tsar let out another sigh and told Eloise's story,

"Eloise was an only child and she loved her parents more than anything on this earth. But one day her parents got sick, very sick. Eloise was a strong believer of the Spirit of Healing-it was only Seraphina at the time- and she prayed day and night for Seraphina to come and cure her parents. Seraphina heard the girl's prayers and rushed to help but when she arrived, it was too late." Tsar let out a deep sigh, burying his face in his hands before continuing Eloise's story, "Shortly after the death of her parents, Eloise got married and about a year later she had a son who she loved almost as much as she did her parents, if not more, but the child fell ill with the same illness that took her parents and once again, Seraphina came too late." Tsar fell silent but there no more need to explain what happened afterwards: Eloise became a Sun spirit, took over the Order, and vowed revenge. "For reasons I do not understand," Tsar suddenly said, snapping North out of his thoughts, "Eloise is exacting her revenge on Paro as well and she's going to do it by taking away two of the most precious things in her life. One has already been taken"

"Her mother. What could the other be?" Tsar looked at North as if he was the dumbest creature alive. Slowly, he lifted his hand and pointed at…

"You."

**I wanted a cliff-hanger (please don't kill me). Review, favourite, follow.**


	8. Chapter 7

**OMG! I'm lacking soooooo much inspiration right now for this story, it's not even funny. Maybe it's because everything is mostly explanatory. We'll get some action soon, I promise. The chapter after this will be mostly explanatory as well and after that I intend to put some action in there. On a side note: I'm going on vacation for the entire month of July so writing will be minimal to not at all. So don't expect any updates at all for that month.**

**Chapter #7**

Hiccup slowly woke from a sleep plagued with nightmares, feeling beyond exhausted. Luckily, the wounds from the torture wasn't hurting anymore. He looked down at his chest and was clearly unfazed by the fact that nearly all wounds he had acquired only hours earlier were gone without trace. Hiccup let out a deep sigh, the feeling of hopelessness expanding in him. He looked to his left and saw that Rapunzel was sleeping. He felt envy when he saw that there was no black sand dancing above the sleeping woman but sadness took over when he saw how pale she was, her broken leg positioned at an odd angle and covered with bruises.

"I don't understand how you heal so fast." The familiar female voice said, her tone too happy for a place like Pitch's lair. Hiccup turned his head and looked at Eloise,

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out." He rasped, his throat drier than the Sahara desert. To his surprise, Eloise laughed, "You seem in an awfully good mood." Hiccup added sourly, going into a short bout of coughs. Eloise chuckled gleefully and slowly approached Hiccup,

"You have no idea." She smiled a smile so bright that it could outshine the light surrounding her,

"Why?"

"With Seraphina out of the way, my revenge is nearly complete." She said happily, waving her hand to add emphasis,

"What?" Seraphina is dead? "How?" He croaked, shock clear on his face

"Please, don't look at me like you don't know how I did it. After all," Eloise glared at Hiccup, "Tsar Lunar confided that precious information about what sustain me, what sustains Tsar and formerly Seraphina."

Besides the Choosers, Hiccup was one of the few that knew what the Source was. The Source was an orb of magic that floated inside a Chooser where a human's heart would be. That orb kept a Chooser alive and was the source of most their power. For safety reasons, the Choosers confide the deepest secrets of the Source only to those they could trust with their lives. The deepest secret was how to destroy it. Destroying a Source could be done one way and one way only. It had to be forced out of the Chooser by magic means and crushed. Anybody that wanted to destroy a Chooser that did not know this could spend their entire lives searching for a way but if the Choosers wanted to destroy each other, they could do it in seconds.

"Why?" Hiccup shot a glare up at Eloise, "Why did you kill her?"

"I already told you: revenge." She crouched down in front of him, a smirk playing on her face,

"What did she do to you?"

"She took the most precious things in my human life from me: my parents and my son."

"They loved you very much, didn't they?" Hiccup asked quietly and sadly. Eloise nodded and smiled a little at the memories of so many happy moments, "You are very lucky." He lowered his head and felt tears well up in his eyes,

"I'm lucky?!" She grabbed Hiccup's throat, "I'm lucky that I had my parents and my son taken from me!?"

"No." he replied nonchalantly. Eloise's expression softened instantly, not expecting a reply like that, "You're lucky that your parents loved you." She looked at her hand and she let go if his throat,

"What are you talking at about?" she whispered,

"My mother died when I was very young and my father… I was a disappointment to him. And Rapunzel," He turned his head and Eloise followed his gaze to the still-sleeping Rapunzel, "She was murdered by her father and brother in cold-blood." Eloise was silent for a moment then she let out a heartless scoff, her once soft expression retreating back to the dark and cold one,

"You think that with these stories you'll soften me." She threw a ball of fire at Hiccup's shoulder, causing a groan to escape from him. "Well." She pressed her thumb on the fresh burn. "Let me tell you this," she pressed harder on the wound and Hiccup had to fight with all his might not to show how much pain he felt, "I may be bright, warm and radiant on the outside but really," she pressed even harder, her thumb going into Hiccup. Eloise leaned closer, "I'm as dark and cold as this lair and _nothing_ you say can change me." She ripped her thumb from the wound, causing another pained groan from Hiccup, the wound burning hotter than ever before. Panting heavily, Hiccup looked up as Eloise left,

"You already are changing." he rasped

* * *

"Me?" Tsar Lunar sighed and nodded slowly. For the first time in years, North felt fear. For an instant, it was fear for himself; fear from the fact that he could be facing death soon. But that fear was quickly replaced by another: fear for the others. He feared what would happen to Jack, to Merida, to Hiccup and Rapunzel and, worst of all, to Paro should Pitch or Eloise kill him. North looked at Tsar Lunar and suddenly got an idea; if Tsar was willing to do it, it would ease North's mind, hopefully,

"You said you have the gift of foresight no?" Tsar replied with a nod,

"I did." Tsar Lunar's glimpses into the future were always complicated. His visions usually consisted of voices and brief images and rarely fully detailed scenes.

"Could you look into-?"

"The future?" Tsar finished for him and North nodded, "Very well but remember that the future is not set in stone." Tsar Lunar closed his eyes and concentrated. His mind was empty for a moment. Then he heard Pitch's silky voice cooing,

_Sleep well, my dear, for tomorrow, your life will become a real nightmare!_ then an image flashed in his mind; an image of a black arrow. Then he heard a woman crying and a male voice yelling

_You took her from me! _followed by an image of a knife. Then he heard another woman speaking and what she said scared him,

_Look at me! Don't go! Don't go, stay with me!_ Tsar Lunar opened his eyes, his breathing fast and his "heart" pounding in his chest,

"What did you see?" North asked slowly. Tsar Lunar let out a long and deep sigh,

"You and the others will be fighting for your lives."

**I had no idea where to end it so I just ended it there. Please review 'cause I love reading them and inspire me to keep going. Review, favourite, follow.**


	9. Chapter 8

**And here's the next chapter. This one is explanatory and next chapter will be too. The next chapter I will post on the 29****th**** for reasons I'll explain then. In this chapter Hiccup's past will be revealed. Note: I wrote most of this on my IPod so please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes. Enjoy!**

**Chapter #8**

Since North and Tsar Lunar left, all had remained as it was in the meeting room. Helios and Paro had moved to a large window sill in the corner and whispering amongst themselves, the occasional chuckle escaping from them. Merida was sitting on the floor with her back to a beam, rubbing Toothless' nose continuously and absentmindedly, a single question buzzing through her mind: why did Pitch kidnap Hiccup and Rapunzel?

Toothless moaned quietly, looking up at Merida with his large and sad eyes. Sighing, she rubbed his nose a bit more,

"I miss Hiccup too." She whispered more to herself than the dragon. She continued to stare right ahead of her, watching a worrisome Jack pace back and forth. Merida heard another chuckle from Paro. She looked at her; she and Helios were holding hands! Merida blinked twice to check that it wasn't her eyes playing tricks. Were Helios and Paro really that close? Or were they-? Toothless' head suddenly shot up and in the distance, Merida could faintly hear the opening and the closing of a door. As North and Tsar Lunar reappeared, everybody that was sitting stood up. Jack was the first to speak,

"North! What does Pitch want with Rapunzel?"

"And with Hiccup?" Media quickly added. North opened his mouth to speak but Helios beat him to it,

"It's pretty obvious why Pitch kidnapped Rapunzel." Helios stated, still sitting in the window sill, "She's bait. And one of the reasons Hiccup was kidnapped is the same as well because Pitch knows that you two," He pointed at Jack and Merida, "will try come to the rescue and it also a guarantee that you'll do something stupid in the process."

"Are you saying that we're stupid?!" Merida retorted angrily. Helios seemed unfazed by the redhead's anger,

"No. I'm just saying that you'll do something stupid, which will probably end with the bad guys winning the day." Merida was about the retort again but Paro spoke first, who was standing close by North,

"You said that one of the reasons Hiccup was kidnapped is bait." She looked at her friend, "What are the other reasons or do you even know?" IN reply, Helios rolled his eyes, probably thinking about how his friend could doubt his intelligence

"That is something Tsar Lunar can answer for you." He pointed behind the Guardians at Tsar. They all turned around to look at him. Tsar sighed and ran his fingers through his hair,

"I think it is time you all know." He said quietly,

"We all know what?" Merida asked in a small voice and Tsar looked at her,

"Hiccup's past and a secret that, if known by the wrong people, could cost him his life." The whole room fell silent. Hiccup has never told anyone anything about his past, not even Merida, who was one of his closest friends. Merida didn't say a word; she could finally hear it, she could finally hear the truth about the subject that had been the cause of so many fights between her and Hiccup. Judging by the silence, Tsar Lunar began to tell the story, "How many of you have heard of a legend called 'The Gift of the Night Fury?'" The room was silent again,

"I have." Helios commented nonchalantly and everybody turned around to look at him

"Could you tell us what the legend is about?"

"I can certainly try." He replied in a tone that was not the bored and pissed-off tone he'd been displaying to the others since arriving. He cleared his throat, "The legend talks about a Viking boy that grew up in a village were slaying dragons was the norm. Well, one day, the boy shot down the rarest and most dangerous dragon of them all: the Night Fury." Toothless growled quietly as if to retort that he wasn't dangerous. Ignoring the dragon, Helios continued, "The boy had the dragon downed and at knifepoint. He could have ended its life right there and earn a huge amount of respect but instead, he let the beast go. Through curiosity, trail, error, and a little luck, the boy trained the Night Fury. But one day, the boy was caught with the dragon by his father. In a wave of fury, the father cut off part of the boy's leg and the boy and the dragon were forced to flee. Without any form of medical care, the boy prepared himself for his death but it never came. Instead the wound healed that same night at a speed that was even impossible for Guardians and Spirits! Unbeknownst to the boy for many years, the Night Fury had given him immortality and the ability to rapidly heal as a reward for being the first and only man to ever train him." Helios took a quick breath, looking at the Guardians who were all staring at him, "There are several versions to the ending of the legend but I'm not going into that." The room fell silent as everybody processed the information they had just been told,

"And this relates to Hiccup in what way?" Merida asked as she returned her gaze to Tsar Lunar. He sighed,

"That boy was Hiccup." So that's it? That was what Hiccup had refused to tell her all those years? But why would he keep that quiet? It didn't even sound life threatening

"And this secret you were talking about," Merida started, "What was it?"

"The secret of how Hiccup gained his immortality. The legend says that the Night Fury gave the boy his immortality; that is partly true. It wasn't the Night Fury himself that gave the gift, it was his heart." Silence.

"His heart?" North asked slowly and Tsar nodded,

"So you're saying that the heart gave the gift?" Paro questioned and Tsar nodded again,

"Yes. Soon after Hiccup discovered this, Toothless told him something that shocked him: that he wasn't immortal himself." Toothless wobbled over to Tsar and he gave the dragon a pat on his nose, "To keep his best and only friend alive, Hiccup took Toothless' heart out of his body and-"

"Wait a second!" Merida interrupted, "Are you saying that Toothless doesn't have a heart!?"

"Oh don't worry he does," Helios answered and everybody looked at him, "It's just not in his body." Merida looked at Toothless, who nodded, confirming Helios' words. Now, Merida knew everything except one little thing,

"But how could this cost Hiccup's life?" The Guardians' immortally was sustained by the belief of children. If a Guardian lost all their belief, they'd become mortal again but this was different.

"The heart is what gave and sustains his immortality. So long as nobody else touches the heart and takes control of it, Hiccup will be fine."

"But what happens if somebody else touches the heart?"

"The gift would pass on to the one who touched the heart and Hiccup's immortal age would become his real age." Merida was stunned at that news. Most humans never reached the age of 100 and Hiccup was over 900 years old.

"B-But that would mean-" Merida started slow, Tsar Lunar's reply confirming her fear,

"Yes." He started solemnly, "If he lost control of the heart, Hiccup would die."

**Cliffhanger! I'm going to try to update again this Saturday so stay tuned! Review, favourite, follow.**


	10. Chapter 9

**And here's the reason why I posted this chapter today: happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…. Yes, today is my birthday and instead of giving you guys a party or cake, I'm giving you guys another chapter, which I had a lot of fun writing. I started a poll on my account about the fan fictions ideas I have. I just want to see which fiction you guys really want to read, so if you guys could drop a vote or two I****'****d really appreciate it. This will be my last update before my vacation so I'll see you guys in about a month or so. Enjoy the chapter! (You get to see a cat fight and a more emotional side of North)**

**Chapter #9**

The whole Pole fell silent, the only sounds coming from the distant workshop. Merida was the first to move, grabbing her bow and quiver and heading into the direction of the exit,

"And where do you think you're going?" North asked as he blocked Merida's path,

"I'm going to give that Boogeyman bastard a piece of my mind!" She moved to walk around North but he moved too, blocking her way again,

"And that's where the stupid move starts." Helios said to himself, not expecting that North had heard him. North let out a frustrated growl,

"What is your problem!?" He slowly began to approach Helios, completely forgetting that everybody else was still in the room Helios jumped down from the sill and gave North a death glare. Merida stood still and watched with everyone else, completely forgetting that she wanted to kick Pitch's butt; it wasn't everyday that North got into a fight,

"My problem?" Helios asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, your problem." North yelled, poking Helios several times in his chest, "You suddenly show up at my home and the only thing you do is insult us!"

"That's it?!" Helios replied with a chuckle of disbelieve, "You think I'm insulting you!? Trust me, I haven't even brushed the surface yet of my 'insulting' abilities." Helios kept glaring at North, unafraid of the fuming Russian, "You done yet?" He asked sounding almost bored,

"Nyet!"

"Oh, you have another problem with me?" Helios now sounded amused. North grabbed Helios' shirt and brought him up to eye level,

"Yes I do! Here's my other problem with you: who are you and how do you know Paro!?"

"Stop it!" The two turned their death glares away from each other and looked at Paro, "You two are acting like children!" She sounded almost desperate. North looked at her and slowly let go of Helios' shirt,

"In case you haven't noticed," Helios stated, knowing very well that what he was going to say would be an invitation to another fight, "I'm her friend," North turned his attention back to the man he was confronting, "I was one of the few people Seraphina anywhere near her!"

"Really?" North inquired, grabbing Helios' shirt again when he nodded, "And how many lies did you tell Seraphina before she allowed you to do that!?" He shook Helios back and forth a bit. Helios grabbed North's wrist and yanked the hand away,

"The only thing I told her is that us Sun Spirits were much better than you Guardians! The rest was Tsar Lunar's doing!"

"What!?" North around him frantically but Tsar Lunar was nowhere to be seen,

"Yes, Tsar Lunar." North turned his attention back to Helios, "He convinced Seraphina to let me near Paro." North stared at him for a moment before letting out a scoff, "You don't believe me do you?" Helios said and North shook his head. "I know that the Sun Spirits have a reputation of being a sly bunch but now," Helios stated as he walked around the Russian and stopped about halfway between North and Paro, "I'm not the one that's lying or the one that's lacking in performance."

"Lacking in performance!?" Merida joined the argument, her bow in her hand and her fingers brushing the feathers of her arrows, "What makes you say that!?" Helios gave her a deadpanned look.

"Let me see," He started, pointing to add emphasis, "You let two of your Guardians be kidnapped right under your noses and a certain someone," He returned his gaze to North, "can't even take care of the woman he _proclaims _to love." Paro gasped and North froze. All was silent as North took in the insult

"You're wrong!" He snapped and moved towards Helios again but this time, Paro in between the two men, hoping to stop them from going into a full fight "I can take care of her!" He was forced to stop walking when Paro placed her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her and she shook her head, silently begging him to stop,

"And you're doing such a _marvellous _job at it!" Helios retorted, catching the attention of both Paro and North. He took a few steps back, "'I can take care of her'" He said in a mocking tone, imitating North's voice. He looked at North and pointed an accusing finger, "Says the man who _abandoned_ her for 600 years!"

"HELIOS!" Paro screamed but it was too late. North let out a weak gasp and took a step back, staring at the floor in shock. Paro turned around and looked at him,

"Nicholas?" North looked up at her, his eyes glistening. He didn't say anything and slowly walked out of the room, his pace speeding up towards a run. Merida watched as North left; he never backed down from a fight but this was different. This wasn't someone throwing a punch or aiming a weapon at him. No. This was someone rubbing salt in emotional wounds.

Paro watched as North disappeared from her sight before looking at Helios, who was watching as well without a trace of remorse. She approached him and he looked at her. They stared for only a little while.

SLAP!

Helios' head shot to the left and a large, red, hand-shaped mark from where Paro had hit him started to appear. He looked at her, his hand rubbing lightly against the red mark. She shook her head, water appearing at the bottom of her eyes, and she ran after North.

Merida watched as Paro ran away, anger bubbling in her. Helios just had to bring that up! Nobody ever talked about those 600 years. It was a delicate topic and everyone knew that North was wracked with guilt for those years, even though there was nothing he could've done about it.

Merida looked at Helios, who was stunned, probably from the fact that he got hit. Merida was a little stunned too; Paro was not a violent person. If she had to use violence, she'd use her magic but never her own hands.

"You just had to bring that up, didn't you!?" She snapped but it was obvious that Helios wasn't listening.

* * *

Paro ran and ran and ran but North was long out of her sight. She stopped right in the middle of the workshop, leaning against a workbench. "Phil!" the yeti turned around as Paro ran to him, "Where's Nicholas?" Phil began to warble in his language. Paro couldn't understand what he was saying but when he pointed in the direction of North's workroom, Paro sped away, yelling a quick 'thank you' over her shoulder. When she arrived outside the room, the door was closed but luckily not locked. She opened the door to find North sitting down with his face buried in his hands, his sword lying carelessly beside the chair and his latest creation destroyed and scattered on the floor.

Paro quietly closed the door and slowly walked towards North, being careful where she stepped. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. North let out a sigh and dropped his arms onto his lap. She crouched and saw a rare tear on his cheek. She brushed it away and gently turned his head. When blue met green, she said,

"You did not abandon me, _meri jana_." He sighed again,

"But I left you alone" He said slowly. North closed his eyes and another tear escaped.

"You couldn't come; I know you couldn't" She placed her hand on his cheek, brushing the tear away with her thumb, "I forgave you." North opened his eyes and looked at her, taking her hand and pressing a small kiss on it,

"I know you did but can I forgive myself?"

**That is a very good question North. Ok, I'll admit that Helios is a complete ass at the moment but he's a dynamic character. I'll see you guys next chapter (no idea what will happen yet but I'm hoping to add a little action) Review, favourite, follow.**

**Translations**

**Meri jana- my darling**


	11. Chapter 10

**Oops, I lied. This will be my last chapter before vacation, guaranteed. I don't have to time to write another chapter. Here's the action I've promised you guys. Warning: if you are overly fond of either North or Jack, you'll probably get some feels.**

**Chapter #10**

With her bow slung over her shoulder, Merida snuck quietly out of her room and on her tiptoe headed in the direction of North's room. It was night-time at the Pole now but Merida had no intention of going to sleep. How could she sleep if she knew that her best friend was in the clutches of the enemy? She wasn't going to sit by idly and wait. Oh no, she was going to rescue Hiccup. Or at least try.

The door to North's room came in sight. After he and Paro had come back from the talk they had, North had told her and Jack that it would be too dangerous to attempt a rescue with just the two of them. Merida trusted North but she couldn't do nothing.

The door to the room was open slightly, just enough to see a sleeping North, his strong arm wrapped around a sleeping Paro, and Pitch Black looming over her, his long slender finger caressing her cheek. Merida froze and watched as Paro's face scrunched up in fear, her hand clutching the sheets tightly. Pitch chuckled quietly,

"Sleep well, my dear," He whispered as a small whimper escaped from Paro, "For tomorrow, your life will become a real nightmare!" He stepped back and disappeared into the shadows as Paro shot up into a sitting position, breathing heavily and looking around her rapidly as if she still believed she was in the nightmare,

"Paro?" North's sleepy voice grumbled and Merida saw his shirtless figure move into a sitting position. Paro turned and threw her arms around his neck, beginning to cry. Merida watched as North tried to comfort her, speaking to her in Russian; how much pain could Paro suffer in one day?

After Paro seemed to have calmed down, North spoke to her in Russian, caressing her cheek and running his fingers through her hair. The two talked for a while, about the nightmare Merida supposed. After an eternity, North gave Paro a tender peck and lay back down, holding his arms up, inviting Paro to cuddle into him. Paro did just that and after about 30 minutes to two were asleep again.

Merida snuck into the room, placing her steps carefully and constantly glancing at North. After wandering for a minute, Merida found North's coat. She rummaged through the pockets until she found what she had been looking for: snow globes. In the pocket was a total of 4 globes; Merida took 3.

"_Never know when I'm going to need them" _She got up and snuck out of the room, taking a deep breath of relief when she saw that North was still asleep. With the globes in hand, Merida headed for the meeting room. When she turned the corner, she bumped head first into something, dropping the snow globes but luckily not breaking them. Rubbing her head, Merida looked at what she ran into: Jack

"Jack!" she hissed, retrieving the globes, "What are you doing?!" She reached for the last globe that was lying by Jack's feet but he snatched it up first. He looked form the globe to Merida.

"Could ask you the same thing." He said. Merida rolled her eyes and snatched the globe Jack was holding,

"That none of your business!" She snapped and tried to walk around Jack but he blocked her path, "Move." she whispered threateningly but Jack didn't move a muscle

"You were going to Pitch, weren't you?" Jack crossed his arms and smirked when Merida rolled her eyes again, "I was too." Merida's gaze shot up in confusion,

"What?"

"Did you honestly think that I'd sit around and wait while Pitch has Rapunzel?" Merida looked at Jack and slowly shook her head. Jack smirked again and headed into the meeting room. "Aren't you coming?" He asked when he noticed Merida hadn't moved. Merida quickly joined Jack and grabbed a snow globe. Suddenly, a random idea popped into Merida's mind. If the Northern Lights were broken, why didn't they just use a snow globe to travel to the Warren or the Tooth Palace? Merida looked at Jack and he nodded, thinking the same thing,

"The Warren." Merida whispered to the first globe and smashed it to the ground. A portal with a blurry image of the Warren appeared. Merida took a step forward towards it when it suddenly closed! Merida gasped and looked at a shocked Jack. North's globes never closed until at least person had gone through it,

"Eloise blocked the portals." Said a voice from the large window sill. They looked at saw Helios sitting, looking out of the window. Helios looked at Jack and Merida, his cheek still a little red, "The only places you can go to with those globes are Pitch's lair and Lirat." He stood up and slowly walked toward the two Guardians.

"How can the portals be blocked?" Merida demanded. The portals were always there; devices like the snow globes opened the portals, "And what is Lirat?" Helios stopped only a few meters away and leaned casually against a column,

"Eloise used a powerful spell to block the portals; it's to prevent you from warning the other Guardians. The only ones that can travel through the spell are Choosers or a teleporter. " Merida had heard of teleporter but had only met one. Paro had told her that one of the Healing Spirits was a teleporter but which one Merida couldn't remember. She opened her mouth to ask another question but Helios spoke before she could utter a syllable, "Before you ask, I overheard Pitch and Eloise planning." Merida immediately closed her mouth, "And Lirat is what Eloise and the Sun Spirits call the sun or rather the realm were they live." Merida and Jack nodded slightly in sync. They all stood there in silence for quite a while, the two Guardians waiting for Helios to leave. With a sigh, Helios stood up straight, "Look," He spread his hands to add emphasis, "You two do what you want. I'm not going to stop you. I just ask that you are prepared to face the consequences of your actions." He quickly left the room before Jack or Merida could say anything. Merida grabbed another globe,

"You ready?" She looked at Jack and he nodded. Merida whispered the location and threw the globe to the ground, opening another portal with an image of the forest surrounding the entrance to the lair. This time, the portal didn't collapse. Taking a deep breath, Jack and Merida walked through the portal.

* * *

The two Guardians were looking into the large black hole that was the entrance to the lair of Pitch. The portal had brought them further from the entrance than they'd though and had walked around the forest for the last 15 minutes trying to find it.

"You ready?" Merida asked. Jack let out a deep breath and nodded. He took a step forward to the edge and prepared to jump,

"Jack! Merida!" Yelled an all-too-familiar voice. They looked into the direction and saw North, sabres drawn, appearing from the forest with Paro close behind him; her green choli had changed to a gold one with white embroidery and her long black hair was down.

"Hi North." Jack chuckled nervously, taking a step back from the entrance. North looked at the two Guardians with a stern look,

"I told you two that it was too dangerous to attempt a rescue with just the two of you!" Merida opened her mouth to retort but Jack beat her to it,

"Then what do you expect us to do!? Just sit around and do nothing!?"

"Jack." Paro's smooth voice said, "I understand how you must be feeling about all this," She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "But you must understand that you don't know what Pitch and Eloise are capable of." Jack opened his mouth but Paro lay a finger over it, keeping him quiet, "Yes, you've seen the near extend of Pitch's power but Eloise is much more powerful. She could end all life on earth with a snap of her fingers."

"Indeed I can." Eloise boomed. The Guardians looked up and saw her floating on light, her palms opened with balls of flame floating above them.

"I told you to come alone." Pitch voice echoed from the dark hole. A wave of black sand emerged from it and landed on the forest floor. As the sand disappeared, Pitch Black was revealed. Paro felt the anger boil in her and took a step forward, only to have North grab her arm. Pitch's eyes looked at them with a sadistic glare, "You will regret bringing those two." He lifted his arms in the air and Fearlings appeared all around the clearing while Eloise shot fire all around the edge of the clearing, preventing an escape. The Guardians scattered, taking Fearling down left, right, and center but with each Fearling that was killed, another appeared.

Instead of going after the Fearlings, Paro had her eyes on Eloise, who had lowered herself to the clearing with balls of flames floating in her hands. The two women approached each other with glares that could kill,

"Hello, _Mother Nature._"

* * *

Jack began to shoot Fearlings left and right, quickly disposing of them before even more appeared. He slammed the end of his staff to the ground, the power emitted disintegrating any Fearling that came near. Luckily, few of the fallen were replaced. Jack looked around, seeing North slashing with his sabres while Merida was fighting from a distance.

A scream rang through the clearing. Jack shot his head around and to all their horror, Eloise had Paro pinned to a tree with Eloise's hand wrapped tightly around her throat,

"PARO!" North yelled and tried to get to her but Pitch lifted his arms again and a whole wall of Fearlings appeared in front of him. Jack lifted his staff and shot a beam of ice. It hit Eloise in her back but instead of hurting her, it just melted!

Eloise turned to Jack, who took a small fearful step back. Eloise dropped Paro to the forest floor; Paro hit her head so hard she became unconscious. Eloise slowly began to approach Jack, the sadistic glare still present. He lifted his staff again, ready to attack.

He swung his staff in an attempt to hit Eloise but she grabbed the wood. Jack swung the free end of the staff but Eloise caught that also. Jack was roughly pushed back and pinned to a tree, his staff preventing an escape. He began struggling, trying to break free but Eloise pushed hard,

"Look at me." She whispered. Against his better judgement, Jack looked; behind her Paro had woken up. "Look at me very carefully, Frost!" She leaned closer to him, "This is the last thing you'll ever see!" She placed her hand over Jack's eyes. Jack let out a bloodcurdling scream as her hand started to burn hotter and hotter. He began to writhe in pain but Eloise kept her hand tightly on his eyes. When she finally pulled it away, the only thing Jack saw was black.

* * *

When Jack screamed, everything stopped. The Fearlings stopped attacking and the Guardians stopped fighting. They all turned and were horrified when they saw Jack collapsing onto the ground, his staff falling carelessly beside him and covering his eyes in shame. Eloise slowly walked backwards and transformed into an orb of light that quickly flew away.

"Jack!" Merida yelled and ran to him, quickly followed by North and Paro. Merida fell to her knee, dropping her bow beside her. Paro joined her, a large bleeding cut on her forehead, and lifted Jack's head by his chin. She gently removed the hand covering his eyes, a small whimper of pain escaping his lips. They gasped. Jack's eyes were tightly shut, burned red and slightly swollen; Eloise had burned his eyes closed and, in the process, probably blinded him as well.

"Can you fix them?" Merida asked in a voice that was only inches away from panic. Slowly, Paro nodded, taking another look at the burn wound,

"Yes, I can but the spell is tricky. It will get rid of the burn but if it will return his sight, I don't know." Paro stood up and gently grabbed Jack's wrist and his elbow and helped him up. Merida stood up and copied Paro's movement while North grabbed the staff.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Pitch's voice boomed from the shadows. They all looked around nervously, not certain which shadow he was talking from. They looked left and right but Pitch was nowhere, his chuckles echoing menacingly through the clearing.

North spotted the Nightmare King first. He was holding a bow and arrow, aimed for Paro!

"NO!" North screamed as Pitch released the arrow. North ran, faster than he'd ever done in his entire life.

The arrow was inching closer and closer

He had to get to her! He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to her. He ran faster.

Closer and closer. North pushed Paro aside, causing her and Jack to lose their balance. Paro fell to the hard ground while Merida managed to catch Jack.

The arrow struck.

North took in a sharp breath and gritted his teeth, trying not to scream as the arrow ripped through his coat and shirt into his side.

"NO!" Paro screamed as North collapsed onto his knees, "NICHOLAS!" she crawled to him, placing her hands on the sides of his face, feeling the burning skin and the cold sweat. She looked down and saw the black arrow still protruding his side. Slowly and gently, trying not to hurt him more, Paro pushed North so he was leaning against a tree.

He opened his eyes, staring at the green eyes of Paro. To her surprise, he smiled.

"You're alright." he whispered with a sigh of relief and Paro felt her heart break from what? Joy? Relief? Sadness? He was mortally wounded, probably dying, and he's more concerned about her. His face grimaced when moved ever so slightly, his hand grasping the arrow. His face grimaced when he moved ever so slightly, his hand grasping the arrow.

Paro took North's hand off of the arrow and hers on it instead. Silently apologizing, she yanked the arrow out of North, earning a groan of pain from him and causing some blood to spill on her hands. She threw the arrow away, disintegrating as it hit the ground. With the arrow gone, Paro could see the full extent of the wound. She gasped lightly when she saw the large gaping wound that was bleeding without stop.

"Why, Nicholas? Why?" Paro dared to look at North again. He was very pale and he was barely conscious; he's losing too much blood.

"Paro!" Merida yelled. Paro looked up and saw her with Jack's arm slung over her shoulder and a snow globe in her hand, "We have to get them out of here." she sounded nervous, fully aware of their dire situation.

Paro nodded and slung North's arm over her shoulder, a weak groan coming from him. She stood up, wrapping her hand around his uninjured side while Merida threw the globe to the ground, a faint image of the North Pole dancing in the portal. Merida went through first while Paro followed, the portal closing as she went through.

* * *

After the Guardians left, Pitch re-emerged from the shadows, looking around the clearing. He started to chuckle, which slowly turned into a heartless laugh,

"What could possibly be so funny?" Eloise asked as she transformed herself back to her human form. Pitch looked at her and smiled,

"Paro thinks that that arrow caused a mere flesh wound that can be healed with a flick of her hand. Oh, how wrong she is." Eloise let out a small chuckle and she slowly walked towards him, the light surrounding her slowly disappearing when she cast the spell in her mind. She stopped on a dime when her foot stepped on something that wasn't earth. She looked down and picked up the bow that Merida had left behind. Her gaze went from the bow to Pitch and back to the bow, "I wonder what the Guardian of Fall will think." She looked at Pitch and smirked. She took the bow in both her hands and snapped the wood in two.

**FireHazard101, I know I told you nothing was going to happen to Jack but the idea suddenly just popped into my head and I couldn't resist using it. Sorry!**

**Now that's a cliffhanger for you guys: North's mortally wounded, Jack's blind and Merida's bow is broken. Next chapter you'll see what Pitch was talking about and we'll see if Jack can be healed. Later! Review, favourite, follow**.


	12. Chapter 11

**And here's the next chapter. Here we'll see if Jack can be healed and what Pitch was talking about last chapter. Also, some things about Helios are revealed.**

**Chapter 11**

Jack knew he was back at the Pole but still all he saw was black. He was scared but the fact that he couldn't see wasn't what scared him. It was the fact that he didn't know what was happening around him. Back in the clearing, he had heard Paro screaming and North's large body hit the forest floor but what happened after they went through the portal...

Inside, it was killing him that the man he considered his father was wounded but worst of all, he couldn't help because every time he tried to stand up, someone would push him back into the chair.

"Jack, can you try to open your eyes?" said a feminine voice. Jack didn't want it open his eyes; he wanted to help but he couldn't!

Though he didn't know who she was, Jack did as she asked but every time he stretched his eyelids, pain and a burning feeling would rack through his head. His hand flew to cover his eyes but that irritated the wound even more.

The pain stopped in an instant when a hand cupped his chin. Jack could feel something wave over his eyes and a soft pulse hit them. When the pulse stopped, Jack's lids felt different.

"Ok," the voice said as the hand let go of his chin, "now try again." Jack gulped loudly. A hand placed itself on his shoulder, "It's ok." the voice cooed. Taking a deep breath, Jack tried.

At the first feeling of pain, Jack stopped but he quickly realized that the pain was less than before. Encouraged, he kept going and going until he knew that his eyes were open but his sight was blurry, very blurry; he couldn't even pick out the features of the face of the figure in front of him, whom he guessed the voice belonged to,

"What do you see?" the voice asked.

"Blur. Everything is a blur." He explained. He moved his head left and right but he couldn't make out where he was, "But I can see colour." He looked back at the figure; for some reason, Jack knew she was smiling.

"Then what's the colour of my hair?" Jack looked at the sudden color change by her head. Her hair was too light to be black, too dark to be blonde but not bold enough to be red.

"Brown?" Jack tried. The voice was silent for a long time and Jack starts to fear that he got it wrong.

"Good." Jack looked at her and smiled. He open his mouth to ask who she was went he door opened. Jack looked in the direction if the sound and could easily make out the red.

"How's he doing?" the voice asked and Jack knew, with a sinking heart, that it wasn't him she was asking about.

"Not good." Merida replied solemnly,

"And Paro?" Merida sighed wearily,

"Worse."

* * *

Helios was furious! With himself, with everything! He had just helped Paro with treating a dying North. He should be feeling sorry, or at least some sympathy, for his friend but, since North was involved, any sympathy was non-existent. Helios did not like North. No, he did not like him. He hated North! From the moment he saw him with Paro, hatred had bubbled inside the fallen Sun Spirit, strong enough to cloud his judgement.

Helios had a reason to hate the Guardian of Wonder: North was the only one that was standing in the way of Helios getting what he wanted most and the only one that could make his deepest fear become a reality.

Helios knew that Paro, normally, would not need help when it came to treating an injury but shortly after returning to the Pole, she discovered that nightmare sand had found its way into North's body and were slowly moving to his heart. Nightmare sand was one of the few things that were more powerful than healing magic and thus Paro couldn't remove it. If the sand reached his heart, it'd either turn him into a Fearling or, in his state, it'd kill him and the only way the sand could leave his body was through the same way it came in: the wound in his side.

Even Helios knew that Pitch was the only one that could save North but he knew that Pitch wouldn't take the sand out willingly. They'd either have to force him... or kill him.

He was standing by the door to Paro's room, his back leaning against the wall and his arms crossed. North had woken from his unconsciousness and the two were talking to each other. Helios wasn't listening to what they were saying until he heard his name.

* * *

Paro used all the strength she had to not cry. She had to stay focused as he treated North's fatal wound by hand but when he had regained consciousness, she had stopped. They talked for a while, both knowing that it could be the last time.

Paro noticed that he was mentioning Helios a lot as they talked. He suddenly wanted to know everything about him. Paro knew what he was trying to do. North opened his mouth again but Paro interrupted,

"Nicholas," She started with a sigh, "I know what you're trying to do but nobody could ever replace you." She shook her head, eyes watering a little. She quickly wipes them, "Nobody!" North looked at her and let out a deep sigh,

"It was worth a try." He said, his usually loud and boisterous voice reduced to little more than a whisper. He closed his eyes briefly and swallowed loudly before looking at her again, "Then promise me that you'll keep going with your life and not cling onto me." He slowly lifted his hand and placed it on top of the hand Paro had perched right beside him, "Rescue Hiccup and Rapunzel, don't let Pitch win. And," North stopped as he fought down a spasm of pain from his injury, "And take care of Merida and Jack, especially Jack. It'll be hardest for him." Feeling her eyes water again, Paro nodded,

"I promise." she squeaked. Slowly North lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. Fighting back the tears, Paro wrapped her graceful fingers around his hand. Silently they looked at each other,

"Paro?"

"Yes?"

"On the mantel, there's a small wooden box. Can you get it?" Paro nodded. She stood up and walked to the fireplace. On the mantel, like North said, was a little intricate box. She grabbed it and sat back down, "Open it" he instructed, taking a deep breath. Slowly, Paro lifted the lid and she gaped when she saw what was in it. Placing the box down, she took out a necklace,

"Tsar Lunar found it in your mother's hand." He explained, "He was certain she was meaning to give it back to you before she died." Paro registered what North had said but all she could do was stare at the necklace. It was a very simple necklace as it only consisted of a dark green string and a circular white stone that resembled a full moon. The necklace had belonged to North but he had given it to her when he admitted that he loved her. After they were separated, Seraphina took the necklace and told Paro that she destroyed it.

Paro was so focused on the necklace that she didn't see North grab something else from the little box. She didn't notice anything until she felt him take her free hand and slide something onto her ring finger. She looked and nearly gasped when she saw a ring,

"Nicholas…" She whispered as she switched her gaze to North. He took hold of her hand and gave a weak squeeze,

"I love you so much." He whispered, his eyes slowly closing as he started losing consciousness, "Please don't forget that." Now Paro could no longer hold back the tears. As the tears began to flow and North lose consciousness, Paro lent forward and pressed her lips to his in one last passionate kiss.

* * *

Helios turned away from the door, gasping. Leaning against the wall, he bowed his head as he felt his heart shatter, not in two but into thousands of pieces,

_"__So this is what heartbreak feels like.__"_He thought as he felt tears appear in his eyes, knowing that his worst fear had come true: that Paro doesn't love him. Yes, Helios loved Paro. From the first moment he saw her, Helios had loved her but he never told her. He never told her because he had seen the way her eyes had lit up whenever they had talked about anything relating to North; whether it was the Guardians or snow. He also didn't have the guts to tell her. He feared that he would meet the same fate as North if he told her. When he heard that Seraphina had reneged on her decision of separating Paro and North, Helios had been so angry that he stopped talking to Paro. When he had crashed through the window of the North Pole was the first time he'd seen her in 20 years.

As the tears turned to sobs, he slid down the wall and buried his face in his knees, cursing North's existence in his mind. Now, he didn't just hate North. He wanted him _dead_.

**Don't worry North isn't dead…. yet. I was close to crying when I was writing the fluff between North and Paro. Review, favourite, follow.**


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry this took so long but I have very little motivation for this fiction. It wasn't until I got a review yesterday from a guest who called themselves Anna that I finally got some motivation to finish this chapter. I'll try to have the next chapter up much, much faster but school is starting next week for me and I'm entering my last year of high school, so yeah.**

**Enjoy the chapter. Do note, I wrote about a 1/3 of this on my Ipod so if you see any grammar mistakes, let me know. **

**Chapter #12**

The situation wasn't looking good for Hiccup and Rapunzel. They were stuck in the realm of nightmares, a place nobody wanted to be, and their was no hope that they could attempt an escape on their own; Hiccup knew that from the start. They both couldn't walk by themselves

"It hurts. Hurts so much." Rapunzel whimpered as she moved the slightest. The two captives were snuggled up against each other, Hiccup trying his best to distract the woman from the pain of her broken leg

"I-I know." He cooed, "Just don't try to move it." He honestly didn't know what else to say. Though he was the Guardian of Knowledge, he hardly knew any medicine and the little Healing magic Rapunzel has in her was blocked. He couldn't help her in anyway besides trying to comfort her.

The two sat in silence, Rapunzel's head propped up against Hiccup's shoulder, the tiniest movement sending a wave of pain through her body starting at her leg. She tried to keep her eyes open. She didn't want to fall asleep. Pitch had decided to give her nightmares as well and each time she fell asleep, she saw Jack, being swallowed up into darkness being tortured, dying...

She woke up crying each time, pain stabbing in her heart. She missed him so much.

"Well this is just adorable!" Eloise squealed. Hiccup looked up at her golden head and shot her an annoyed look, "Guardian of Knowledge suddenly became big brother." He didn't say anything because it wasn't an insult or something of that sort. Hiccup was like an older brother to Rapunzel, one that she needed after the traumatizing events with her family. It was a role Hiccup took on proudly.

"Looks like our Guardian of Fall finally has some family that loves him." Pitch sneered as he merged from the shadows, "The only family that loves him." He let out a low chuckle as he watched Hiccup's reaction. Pitch knew that family was a delicate topic for Hiccup,

"I have family!" He snapped.

Hiccup did have family. It did take a few centuries but he had a family he loved and a family that loved him. He had found a mother and father in Paro and North, uncles in Sandy and Bunny, Tooth was like his aunt, Jack and Rapunzel were his siblings, Toothless was the best friend he couldn't live without, and Merida...

"And if this family loves you so much, then why haven't they come? Why haven't they even made an attempt to rescue you and your 'sister'?"

"They will come for us!" Hiccup snapped, "You'll see." But as Pitch's words sank in, he felt like he was lying to himself and Rapunzel when he said that. Pitch smirked,

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." He moved his hand and grabbed something from his black cloak. Hiccup couldn't see it at first but when he did, he felt the worst pain he's felt so far, much worse than all the torture Pitch could inflict. Pitch smiled as he threw Merida's broken bow to Hiccup's foot. Hiccup let go of Rapunzel, the horror and realization hitting him all at once. If Merida's bow was broken, it meant only one thing: that Merida, _his_ Merida, his best friend, his partner-in-crime, was... dead.

"No…" Hiccup whispered as he reached for the bow and brushed his fingers against the broken wood, "No." Hiccup said louder, his breath starting to pick, "No!" he said even louder, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed, snatching up the wood and holding it over his heart, his head bowed as he fought back sobs.

Eloise smiled but underneath it was a small hidden feeling of guilt. The Guardian's word from earlier rang in her ears. Was it true that Hiccup's father never loved him? As Eloise watched him sob, she saw someone in him: herself, when she learned that her parents, and later her son, were dead.

"You are wrong." Eloise snapped out her thoughts as Hiccup spoke, "The heart doesn't make your desires come true. It only grants immortality and the ability to rapidly heal. Nothing more!" They had broken him.

"Oh really?" Pitch asked, unable to hide a smile. He crouched down to the same level as Hiccup, "And what else does your heart do?" He took Hiccup's chin and forced him to look at him, "Or should I say your dragon's heart?"

Hiccup met Pitch's gaze. He couldn't- wouldn't -tell them. Merida would punch him if he gave up, give in, now. He wouldn't give up, not now. He owed it to her,

"I'm never telling you!" He yelled, not bothering to hide a smirk as he saw the Boogeyman cringe, not expecting that answer.

* * *

"He'll break." Eloise ensured Pitch as they walked away from the grieving Guardian "You'll see. He is a strong man but everybody can be broken with the right manoeuvre." They entered a different room and Pitch looked at Eloise,

"Just a pity that your blinding manoeuvre didn't work." Eloise turned around and looked at him "We could've used that against Rapunzel." Eloise stared a little while before letting out a mix of a scoff and a laugh

"It was never my intention to permanently blind Jack Frost." She explained as she walked towards him, "I just wanted to have a little fun and Paro got boring very quickly." She placed a hand on his shoulder "Now," She grabbed his cloak and pulled him closer, "Why don't you and I have some fun?" Pitch looked at her. She almost sound aroused.

"Eloise, we hardly have enough time for 'fun' with your light."

"I have found a solution to that." She pulled on a string that was around her neck and pulled forth a small bottle "I stole this from Tajeddigt. She carries it with her when she has to go to the Sahara and there's a risk of staying there till nightfall." Tajeddigt was the Healing Spirit of Africa and one of the women Paro now leads, "She casts a spell that imitates the sun and captures it in this. That way she can stay in the desert after nightfall without any water." Just like the Guardians, the immortality of a Nature Spirit had to be sustained. Three things could sustain a Nature Spirit: earth, sun and water. If they lost all of these at the same time, a Nature Spirit would be dead within minutes. That's why they prefer to stay in areas that have the perfect combination of all three. "Now, I've discovered that this can keep my light at bay. Which means," She pushed Pitch against the wall, the light surrounding her retreating into the bottle. She leaned closer, her lips nearly brushing his, her hand slowly traveling down his stomach, "We have all the time in the world."

* * *

Merida honestly thought that the situation couldn't get any worse; the only good news that she's had in the last 24 hours was that Jack's sight was back with no permanent damage but really was the only good thing. Nothing was good about their current situation: Seraphina was dead, North is dying, Paro was on the verge of a breakdown, they were isolated from any help from the other Guardians, she lost her bow, Hiccup and Rapunzel are in her enemy's clutches….

Merida felt terrible. She felt responsible for what happened to North; if only she had listened to him….

But what made her feel even more terrible was that her best friend was kidnapped and there was nothing she could do to help him! Merida buried her face into her knees but she didn't- wouldn't -cry. She was a warrior and warriors don't cry! She heard a low croon and the muzzle of Toothless against her red curls. She looked up and placed her hand on the dragon's muzzle,

"We'll get Hiccup back, Toothless. I promise." But Merida felt like she was lying to herself and Toothless when she said that. She sat for a while before standing up with a sigh. She walked slowly and quietly around the North Pole with the dragon by her side, not caring where they were walking let alone going. Whether it was her subconscious or coincidence, Merida found herself standing in front of Hiccup's bedroom door. She looked the dark oak door up and down before looking at Toothless. He let out a quiet sound and motioned his head to the door.

Merida opened the door, the hinges creaking quietly. Hiccup's room was the largest of the Seasons, since he had to accommodate for Toothless along with himself. Despite being very organized, his room was one of the few things that was unorganized. Many pieces of parchment were pinned to the wall, some clothing was lying on the floor, the bed was unmade; it was still in the same state as when Hiccup was kidnapped. Merida looked around and the feeling of dread started to rise in her again.

"_If only I could help him._" She thought solemnly. She walked over to Hiccup's large desk while Toothless began to fiddle with something on the wall. She looked and saw the necklace that she and the other three had. The compass-like necklace he had built for himself was lying carelessly under a few pieces of parchment with sketches of contraptions of the oddest sort. The flap of the necklace was open slightly and Merida could see something going on and off inside it. Curious, she took it and flipped it open. The inside was just like a compass but the letters were replaced with a symbol, each related to a season. To the north was a flower, east a sun, south a leaf, and west a snowflake. The center was usually a pool of blue light but now, it was flashing a red light every few seconds. She knew what it meant: a message had been saved into it.

She pressed down on the center and waited. There was a slight static sound and a voice started to talk: Hiccup's,

"_Merida, if you're listening to this, it means that Pitch already has me._ _Tsar told me that Pitch would come back eventually and that he'd go after me. Listen very carefully. I'm certain that Tsar has told you about the heart. Pitch mustn't get it under _any _circumstances. Not only will the heart give him the ability to rapidly heal but the immortality it gives will only enhance the immortality Pitch already has. In other words, he'll be invincible._" Now Merida understood why Pitch wanted the heart. If he was invincible, he could destroy the Guardians with little trouble, "_You have to get the heart and bring it to the North Pole; there are vaults under the workshop that cannot be penetrated by people like Pitch. I will tell you where it is. As soon as this message is done, you have to get it immediately. I don't care how you get to the location but get there and get there quick._ _The heart is hidden in the storage cellar of DunBroch castle; your old home. I hid it there after it was abandoned._" Merida was stunned when she heard Hiccup say the name of her old home. It has been centuries since Merida had been there. But another question nagged her mind: why would Hiccup hide it there? "_There is so much I want to tell you but time is of the essence. Merida, get there and get there quick_." And the room fell silent. Merida stood still, holding the necklace in her hand, breathing heavily. She shook out of her trance when Toothless crooned. Merida looked at him. With his forepaw, he nudged towards the harness that was lying in front of him. Merida looked and instantly recognized that it wasn't just any harness. It was the harness Hiccup had build specifically for Merida so she could fly Toothless, not that she listened when he tried to teach her.

"Looks like you and I are going for a little ride." The Scot said to the dragon with a smile. It turns out, she could help Hiccup after all.

**Again, I'll try to have the next chapter up faster. Review, favourite, follow.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Another update. Chapter is shorter than what I usually have but what can you do? I'm not too happy with this chapter but I honestly couldn't think of anything else. Besides, I've been focusing a bit too much on **_**Until the End**_** and neglected this story doing so.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter #13**

Helios walked casually through the workshop, earning sneers when he accidently bumped something or was in a Yeti's way but he didn't care. He soon walked by the Globe, ignoring the countless lights. He stopped when he was where he needed to be: North's and Paro's room. He knocked quietly on the door and entered. The first thing he was Paro sitting on a chair beside the bed

She didn't look like herself. Her long black hair was down and messy. Her usual lively green eyes had been reduced to tear-filled eyes with small bags under them. Her hand was clasped tightly around the hand of the unconscious North, her other hand caressing his forehead and playing with the few dark brown locks that had fallen onto it.

His heart sank seeing her like this. He walked toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders

"How is he doing?" He asked with false concern, the tone unnoticed by her,

"Not good but the sand's advance has slowed." She looked up at him, her red eyes gleaming. Helios let out a sigh and squeezed her shoulders lightly.

"Paro, you need rest." He said soothingly. Her eyebrows frowned in anger and she looked away.

"I'm fine!" she insisted but her voice betrayed the truth, the exact opposite of 'fine'

"Paro." He kneeled down beside her, "Don't lie to yourself. You're a wreck and you know it." HE hesitated before placing a hand on her knee, "Listen, why don't you get something to eat and take a short nap and I'll keep an eye on him?" He motioned his head to North. She looked at her hands and nodded,

"You're right." She sighed. They stared for a moment before she threw her arms around him. Helios was taken back for only a second before melting into her embrace, a small smile playing on his face.

"Thank you so much for being here." He heard her whisper into his shoulder, "You have no idea how much it means to me." Helios stiffened lightly at her words, knowing the irony in them. They separated and Paro headed for the door, giving Helios the smile he loved so much before she disappeared.

As soon as she was gone, Helios' demeanour changed

He closed the door and locked it. He turned around and walked to the bedside, staring down at the man he despised.

"It's a good thing you can't talk back because I want you to hear what I have to say." He lowered himself to the North's level, "Do you really think that Paro is better off with you? Do you really think that she ever forgave you for all those years that she spent isolated in the rainforest?" He spoke in a harsh whisper, the anger starting to grow in him, "I watched Paro grieve for years, saw her yearning for you and every day I saw her hope of your return fade little by little. I was there for her during those 600 years and where were you?" He looked around the room, "Here, in your little hole, thinking of new ways to manipulate kids." He stood up, his anger on the verge of overflowing, "You don't deserve to have her. You don't! And yet she is!. YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!" He reached into his sleeve and took out what he had been hiding: a dagger, the blade reflecting the little light in the room. He lifted it, readying to plunge it into North's heart and end his existence.

"_HELIOS!_"

* * *

He gasped around spun around, fearing he'd see Paro. He lowered his knife and fell to his knees when he saw the shimmering figure of Seraphina. She was dressed all in white and light emanated around her.

"_Helios what are you doing?_" Her ethereal voice echoed. He looked up at her and opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was nothing. Seraphina sighed, "_Helios, your duties as a Sun Spirit was to help adolescences and adults through difficult times. You may think you do not need help but I'm giving you it._" She took a step towards the man and spread her arms, motioning to him, "_Look at yourself. Is this really what you've been reduced to: a man bend on revenge and jealously?_" She dropped her hands and looked at him with disappointment, "_This is not you. This is not the man that made my daughter's years of isolation bearable._ _Why are you doing this?_"

"Because... I love her and I want her to be mine." Helios said quietly, for the first time the words feeling selfish. Seraphina sighed,

"_Do you really think that Paro will love you more, that she'll pay more attention to you if she's mourning the loss of the man she's loves more than her very being? Do you think she will even care to look at you if she discovers you were the one that ended his life?_"

It was the truth, the inconvenient truth, the truth he didn't want to but needed to hear. Helios stared at the floor, feeling numb. The knife fell from his hand and clattered to the floor. For the first time in his long life, Helios finally admitted to himself that Paro could never be his.

**Still not too happy with it. But finally, Helios gets put in his place! Keep dropping the reviews guys! I love reading them and they are my motivators for this story. Review, favourite, follow. Pretty please with ice cream, whipped cream, AND a cherry on top? And a cookie? **


	15. Chapter 14

**A longer chapter this time. Really have nothing to say. Enjoy!**

**Chapter #14**

Merida stared up at her old home with her mouth slightly open. It had been centuries since she had last walked through the grassy fields, a memory she'd rather forget. Last time she walked here, she had had a fight with her mother. Merida had stormed out of the castle into the woods but her mother had followed her. Only seconds after her mother found her, they were ambushed by a bear. It wasn't Mor'du but he was dangerous, wild, and bloodthirsty. Being the only one with a weapon, Merida had screamed at her mother to run to safety. Merida fought valiantly but it was for naught.

Merida died saving her mother.

And now she was back. The journey went surprisingly smooth. It hadn't taken long for Merida to regain the ability to maneuver Toothless' tail. As Toothless wandered around a bit, Merida contemplated the next step. Hiccup had told her where the heart was but not where it was hidden in the castle. Her home was large and a heart could be hidden anywhere, in any crook, in any shadow.

She looked over her shoulder at the dragon,

"Toothless, can you help me find it?" The Night Fury stood beside the Guardian and sniffed the air. His pupils became narrow and suddenly sped off into the castle as if in a trance, "TOOTHLESS!" Merida cried as she ran after the dragon when he disappeared into the darkness of the castle. Though she had difficulty seeing where he was running, Merida could clearly hear Toothless' paws thundering against the stone. It went left, right, down a flight of stairs, and again until the thundering ceased. After running, nearly falling, down a flight of stairs, Merida joined Toothless in the storage room, the floor barely visible under a sea of various sized chests. Merida grabbed a torch and held it in front of Toothless. The dragon obediently shot some fire and the torch blazed. Merida held it high, the light spreading through the room.

"How am I going to find a heart in here?" She muttered to herself as she walked into the room, scanning various chests. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a chest that didn't belong. It was made of metal and Viking-styled. She fell to her knees and pried the chest open, looking through its contents. She let out a frustrated groan when she found nothing. Toothless let out a roar. Merida looked at him and saw him with a paw perched on a chest, a Scottish one.

"Toothless! That's a Scottish chest!" The dragon gave her a deadpanned look, "Fine! I'll look!" She stood up and walked to the chosen chest. Merida crouched down and tried to open the lid but it was locked. She looked back at the dragon, "Would you mind?" She motioned to the lock. Toothless aimed and shot a small ball of plasma at it, melting completely. She opened the lid but found another chest inside. She lifted it out, a rather difficult task due to its weight. When examined the box, she found a symbol that she knew had to belong to a Viking clan. This one had a lock on it too, an enchanted one that Toothless' bolts couldn't even penetrate.

"You couldn't make this anymore difficult could you, Hiccup?" She sighed. She pointed to the chest but looked at Toothless, "Any ideas." Toothless sat up and looked left and right as if trying to remember something. He walked to a corner and started scratching the wooden floor. Merida followed the dragon to the spot and felt around the wood until one moved a little. The floorboards were loose. With minimal difficulty, Merida yanked the wood off and frantically searched through the straw. She searched and searched until she felt something cold, something metal brush against her fingers. She grabbed it and pulled forth a small key.

She rushed back to the chest and shoved it a little too roughly into the lock and turned the key.

The lock licked quietly

Merida opened the box. Inside were many items, none of them the heart. She began to empty it, thinking that it could be hidden at the bottom. She took out a helmet, several notebooks with runic writing and sketches, even a small stuffed dragon toy with runes stitched into its side. She reached the bottom when she found an iron box

She took it out and put her ear to it. And there, to her happiness, was the undoubted thumping of a heart.

* * *

"Let's go Toothless." Merida said proudly yet urgently as they emerged from the castle. It was nearly nighttime and Merida didn't want to fly alone in the dark with an item as precious as the one she held under her arm. When she had found the heart, she couldn't resist a glimpse. To her surprise, it was slightly larger than a human's heart and glowing a blood red color.

She jumped onto his back and they shot into the sky, heading north. As they flew, a feeling of uneasiness started to grow and any noise that wasn't Toothless or herself made her jump. When the sun set on the horizon, Merida looked over her shoulder.

She saw the swirls of black heading towards them, heard the unnerving neighing of Nightmares coming closer and closer,

"Faster, Toothless!" Merida screamed. Toothless obeyed and shot ahead but to Merida's horror, the Nightmares were still coming closer. She leaned closer to him, "Do you think we might be able to lose them in the forest?" Toothless screeched and suddenly dove into the woods. Merida let out a scream and threw herself as close to Toothless as possible, trying to save herself from the low lying branches. The Night Fury managed to lose most of the Nightmares and was about to shot back up into the sky when out of nowhere, a Nightmare collided head first with the Night Fury. Toothless crashed, the impact knocking him out, and Merida flew off. She screamed and landed on the hard ground, her head knocking against it just as hard, the box she had been protecting sliding out of her arms as she lost consciousness.

The Nightmares found the unconscious pair shortly after their crash. They circled the Guardian of Bravery and one swallowed the box, keeping it safe in its ribcage.

An hour after the Nightmares left, Merida regained consciousness. Her head was pounding but that wasn't what she noticed. As she looked around her, she saw Toothless but not the iron box. She realized that Pitch had the heart now.

**Probably as un-climatic as it can get. On a sadder note, this fiction is drawing closer and closer to the end. Maybe 3-4 chapters (maybe more) and then its on to the next story. Review, favorite, follow.**


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